Universal Dependencies

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# sent_id = 60 # text = Resumption of the session.

# sent_id = 61 # text = I declare resumed the session of the European Parliament adjourned on Friday 17 December 1999, and I would like once again to wish you a happy new year in the hope that you enjoyed a pleasant festive period.

# sent_id = 62 # text = In the meantime, I should like to observe a minute's silence, as a number of Members have requested, on behalf of all the victims concerned, particularly those of the terrible storms, in the various countries of the European Union.

# sent_id = 63 # text = Please rise, then, for this minute's silence.

# sent_id = 64 # text = (The House rose and observed a minute's silence).

# sent_id = 65 # text = Madam President, on a point of order.

# sent_id = 66 # text = You will be aware from the press and television that there have been a number of bomb explosions and killings in Sri Lanka.

# sent_id = 67 # text = One of the people assassinated very recently in Sri Lanka was Mr Kumar Ponnambalam, who had visited the European Parliament just a few months ago.

# sent_id = 68 # text = Would it be appropriate for you, Madam President, to write a letter to the Sri Lankan President expressing Parliament's regret at his and the other violent deaths in Sri Lanka and urging her to do everything she possibly can to seek a peaceful reconciliation to a very difficult situation?

# sent_id = 69 # text = If the House agrees, I shall do as Mr Evans has suggested.

# sent_id = 70 # text = Madam President, on a point of order.

# sent_id = 71 # text = I would like your advice about Rule 143 concerning inadmissibility.

# sent_id = 72 # text = My question relates to something that will come up on Thursday and which I will then raise again.

# sent_id = 73 # text = I believe that the principle of relative stability is a fundamental legal principle of the common fisheries policy and a proposal to subvert it would be legally inadmissible.

# sent_id = 74 # text = I want to know whether one can raise an objection of that kind to what is merely a report, not a legislative proposal, and whether that is something I can competently do on Thursday.

# sent_id = 75 # text = that is precisely the time when you may, if you wish, raise this question, i.e. on Thursday prior to the start of the presentation of the report.

# sent_id = 76 # text = Madam President, coinciding with this year's first part-session of the European Parliament, a date has been set, unfortunately for next Thursday, in Texas in America, for the execution of a young 34 year-old man who has been sentenced to death.

# sent_id = 77 # text = However, I would ask you, in accordance with the line which is now constantly followed by the European Parliament and by the whole of the European Community, to make representations, using the weight of your prestigious office and the institution you represent, to the President and to the Governor of Texas, Mr Bush, who has the power to order a stay of execution and to reprieve the condemned person.

# sent_id = 78 # text = This is all in accordance with the principles that we have always upheld.

# sent_id = 79 # text = Thank you, Mr Segni, I shall do so gladly.

# sent_id = 80 # text = Indeed, it is quite in keeping with the positions this House has always adopted.

# sent_id = 81 # text = Madam President, I should like to draw your attention to a case in which this Parliament has consistently shown an interest.

# sent_id = 82 # text = All of us here are pleased that the courts have acquitted him and made it clear that in Russia, too, access to environmental information is a constitutional right.

# sent_id = 83 # text = Now, however, he is to go before the courts once more because the public prosecutor is appealing.

# sent_id = 84 # text = We know, and we have stated as much in very many resolutions indeed, including specifically during the last plenary part-session of last year, that this is not solely a legal case and that it is wrong for Alexander Nikitin to be accused of criminal activity and treason because of our involvement as the beneficiaries of his findings.

# sent_id = 85 # text = These findings form the basis of the European programmes to protect the Barents Sea, and that is why I would ask you to examine a draft letter setting out the most important facts and to make Parliament's position, as expressed in the resolutions which it has adopted, clear as far as Russia is concerned.

# sent_id = 86 # text = Yes, Mrs Schroedter, I shall be pleased to look into the facts of this case when I have received your letter.

# sent_id = 87 # text = Madam President, I would firstly like to compliment you on the fact that you have kept your word and that, during this first part-session of the new year, the number of television channels in our offices has indeed increased considerably.

# sent_id = 88 # text = But, Madam President, my personal request has not been met.

# sent_id = 89 # text = I would therefore once more ask you to ensure that we get a Dutch channel as well.

# sent_id = 90 # text = Mrs Plooij-Van Gorsel, I can tell you that this matter is on the agenda for the Quaestors' meeting on Wednesday.

# sent_id = 91 # text = It will, I hope, be examined in a positive light.

# sent_id = 92 # text = Madam President, can you tell me why this Parliament does not adhere to the health and safety legislation that it actually passes?

# sent_id = 93 # text = Why has no air quality test been done on this particular building since we were elected?

# sent_id = 94 # text = Why has there been no Health and Safety Committee meeting since 1998?

# sent_id = 95 # text = Why has there been no fire drill, either in the Brussels Parliament buildings or the Strasbourg Parliament buildings?

# sent_id = 96 # text = Why are there no fire instructions?

# sent_id = 97 # text = Why have the staircases not been improved since my accident?

# sent_id = 98 # text = Why are no-smoking areas not enforced?

# sent_id = 99 # text = Mrs Lynne, you are quite right and I shall check whether this has actually not been done.

# sent_id = 100 # text = I shall also refer the matter to the College of Quaestors, and I am certain that they will be keen to ensure that we comply with the regulations we ourselves vote on.

# sent_id = 101 # text = Madam President, Mrs Díez González and I had tabled questions on certain opinions of the Vice-President, Mrs De Palacio, which appeared in a Spanish newspaper.

# sent_id = 102 # text = The competent services have not included them in the agenda on the grounds that they had been answered in a previous part-session.

# sent_id = 103 # text = The questions answered previously referred to Mrs De Palacio's intervention, on another occasion, and not to these comments which appeared in the Abc newspaper on 18 November.

# sent_id = 104 # text = I admit that, at present, the matter seems to be somewhat confused.

# sent_id = 105 # text = We shall therefore look into it properly to ensure that everything is as it should be.

# sent_id = 106 # text = Madam President, I should like to know if there will be a clear message going out from Parliament this week about our discontent over today's decision refusing to renew the arms embargo on Indonesia, considering that the vast majority in this Parliament have endorsed the arms embargo in Indonesia in the past?

# sent_id = 107 # text = Today's decision not to renew the embargo is extremely dangerous considering the situation there.

# sent_id = 108 # text = So Parliament should send a message, since that is the wish of the vast majority.

# sent_id = 109 # text = It is irresponsible of EU Member States to refuse to renew the embargo.

# sent_id = 110 # text = As people have said, the situation there is extremely volatile.

# sent_id = 111 # text = We do not know what is happening.

# sent_id = 112 # text = In any event, this question is not presently included among the requests for topical and urgent debate on Thursday.

# sent_id = 113 # text = Madam President, the presentation of the Prodi Commission's political programme for the whole legislature was initially a proposal by the Group of the Party of European Socialists which was unanimously approved by the Conference of Presidents in September and which was also explicitly accepted by President Prodi, who reiterated his commitment in his inaugural speech.

# sent_id = 114 # text = This commitment is important because the Commission is a body with a monopoly of initiative in accordance with the Treaties and, therefore, basically dictates this Parliament's political and legislative activity for the next five years.

# sent_id = 115 # text = I would also like to point out, Madam President, that this Parliament voted to express its confidence in President Prodi during the previous legislature.

# sent_id = 116 # text = It did so again during this legislature, in July, and then, in September, it voted once more to approve the whole Commission.

# sent_id = 117 # text = There has therefore been enough time for the Commission to prepare its programme and for us to become familiar with it and explain it to our citizens.

# sent_id = 118 # text = To this end, I would like to remind you of the resolution of 15 September, which recommended that the proposal be presented as soon as possible.

# sent_id = 119 # text = The events of last week - which originated outside the Conference of Presidents, that Conference being used simply to corroborate and ratify decisions taken elsewhere - present us with a dilemma.

# sent_id = 120 # text = According to its President, it is in a position to do so.

# sent_id = 121 # text = My Group believes that since a Parliament is meant to listen, debate and reflect, there can be no justification whatsoever for this delay and we believe that, if the Commission is ready to do so, we still have time to re-establish the original agreement between Parliament and the Commission and proceed in a manner which fulfils our duty to our fellow citizens.

# sent_id = 122 # text = on the pretext that there is no text, on the one hand, the President of the Commission would be denied his right to speak in this Parliament and, on the other hand, there would be a debate on a reform when Parliament had no prior knowledge of the texts on which it is based.

# sent_id = 123 # text = Therefore, Madam President, I would ask you to request that the Commission express its opinion on this issue and that we then proceed to the vote.

# sent_id = 124 # text = (Applause from the PSE Group).

# sent_id = 125 # text = I was told that large sections of the Socialist Group were also keen to have this item taken off the agenda, because at the vote in the Conference of Presidents no vote was received from the working group of Members of the Socialist Group responsible for this matter.

# sent_id = 126 # text = I do not know whether this information is correct, but the PPE-DE Group would, in any case, be grateful if this item were removed because Parliament has addressed this issue several times already.

# sent_id = 127 # text = Decisions have also been adopted against a tax of this kind.

# sent_id = 128 # text = That is why my Group moves that this item be taken off the agenda.

# sent_id = 129 # text = Thank you, Mr Poettering.

# sent_id = 130 # text = We shall now hear Mr Wurtz speaking against this request.

# sent_id = 131 # text = Madam President, I would firstly like to point out Mr Poettering's lack of logic.

# sent_id = 132 # text = It is not a lot to ask.

# sent_id = 133 # text = We shall proceed to vote on the PPE-DE Group's request that the oral question regarding the capital tax be withdrawn from the agenda.

# sent_id = 134 # text = (Parliament rejected the request, with 164 votes for, 166 votes against and 7 abstentions).

# sent_id = 135 # text = Madam President, I would like to thank Mr Poettering for advertising this debate.

# sent_id = 136 # text = Thank you very much.

# sent_id = 137 # text = My vote was "in favour".

# sent_id = 138 # text = Madam President, the Presidency has already declared the result of the vote.

# sent_id = 139 # text = There is no room for amendments.

# sent_id = 140 # text = Madam President, in the earlier vote - and I will abide by your ruling on this matter - on the question of the strategic plan of the Commission I indicated that I would like to speak in advance of the vote on behalf of my Group.

# sent_id = 141 # text = I would appreciate it if, on the close of this item of business, I might be allowed to give an explanation of vote on behalf of my Group.

# sent_id = 142 # text = This is an important matter.

# sent_id = 143 # text = Madam President, I do not wish to reopen the debate, but I had also asked for the floor, to comment on Mr Barón Crespo's motion.

# sent_id = 144 # text = You did not call me either.

# sent_id = 145 # text = I regret this, but the vote has already been taken and the decision is made so let us leave the matter there.

# sent_id = 146 # text = Even so, I think the positions are quite clear and they shall be entered in the Minutes.

# sent_id = 147 # text = When we adopt the Minutes for today's sitting tomorrow, then any Members who think the positions have not been explained clearly enough may ask for amendments.

# sent_id = 148 # text = This seems to me to be a workable solution.

# sent_id = 149 # text = Of course, the Minutes for tomorrow's sitting will take into account any additional explanations.

# sent_id = 150 # text = I think this is a better solution than proceeding now to extremely time-consuming explanations of votes.

# sent_id = 151 # text = Mr Cox, Mr Hänsch, would this be acceptable to you?

# sent_id = 152 # text = Madam President, if the vote records correctly how my Group voted I shall not, and cannot, object to that.

# sent_id = 153 # text = If your ruling is that I cannot give an explanation of vote, I accept that but accept with reservations.

# sent_id = 154 # text = If they do not properly reflect the positions adopted, then we may correct them, if necessary.

# sent_id = 155 # text = (The order of business was adopted thus amended).

# sent_id = 156 # text = Madam President, we cannot and must not accept the fact that we hear ever more frequently of accidents causing major damage on our roads, but also on our railways and waterways, not solely but at least partly because those involved do not take the transport of dangerous goods seriously enough or because - as a result of ignorance or a lack of training on the part of the drivers or others responsible for the various vehicles - a minor accident has all too often become a major disaster.

# sent_id = 157 # text = As an Austrian, I still have a vivid memory, as, I believe, we all do, of the catastrophe which cost so many human lives last year in the Tauern Tunnel, where subsequent work to rebuild the parts of the tunnel which had been destroyed in this fire continued for many months at huge expense.

# sent_id = 158 # text = The renovation project, which lasted for months, cut off this important route between the north and south of Europe.

# sent_id = 159 # text = The traffic which had to be diverted because of this stretched the patience of many thousands of people in the EU to the limit.

# sent_id = 160 # text = In fact, all hell broke loose in some municipalities in my province.

# sent_id = 161 # text = Prevention has to be our answer to disasters of this kind and this draft Directive is an important step towards well-trained safety advisers being available, so that the right action is taken in good time.

# sent_id = 162 # text = All the same, we must not content ourselves with enacting European law to ensure greater safety.

# sent_id = 163 # text = We also need to follow this up and make sure that our rules are transposed by the Member States in good time and - even more importantly - we need to ensure that they are also applied afterwards.

# sent_id = 164 # text = We must not content ourselves with sealing another hole in the safety net and shutting our eyes to the fact that, where transport safety in Europe is concerned, there is still much more to be done.

# sent_id = 165 # text = In this context, I should like to make a request and ask the Commissioner responsible, who is with us here today, to table an appropriate text as soon as possible with a view to continuing to make it safer for traffic to transit tunnels in the future, so that we in Europe do not have to experience any more such disasters on this scale.

# sent_id = 166 # text = Madam President, first of all I should like to thank Mr Koch for his report which has, at its heart, the issue of transport safety.

# sent_id = 167 # text = I congratulate him on his excellent report.

# sent_id = 168 # text = the Paddington rail crash in London, the terrible rail crash in Norway, the two aviation crashes involving EU citizens and the natural disaster involving the Erika off Brittany - all within the last four months - remind us that transport safety can never be taken for granted and that those charged with protecting the public must be highly motivated and highly qualified.

# sent_id = 169 # text = The rapporteur has pointed out to the House that in its common position the Council has accepted six of Parliament's ten amendments put forward at first reading and that the substance of Parliament's other amendments has been retained.

# sent_id = 170 # text = My Group will therefore support the common position and looks forward to the enactment of the legislation which will provide us with yet another tool in our fight to make transport in the European Union as safe as possible.

# sent_id = 171 # text = When it comes to safety my Group will always support any initiatives to improve transport safety.

# sent_id = 172 # text = We still have a lot of work to do in this area as recent events have proved.

# sent_id = 173 # text = Madam President, I would like to make a few comments.

# sent_id = 174 # text = I would like, first of all, to thank the rapporteur for his exceptionally accurate and technical work on the report and, secondly, the Commission for the proposal it has submitted.

# sent_id = 175 # text = We are concerned here with the harmonisation of examination requirements but also, in fact, with minimum requirements.

# sent_id = 176 # text = This is important, but so is enforcement and there are, of course, a number of reasons why we need to pay particular attention to this.

# sent_id = 177 # text = Or ships from Eastern Europe which moor adjacent to ships over here, with all the obvious risks that this entails.

# sent_id = 178 # text = Furthermore, it has transpired that research in the ports in Belgium, Finland, but also in Japan has shown that 50% of containers with partially dangerous cargo are not delivered correctly for shipment.

# sent_id = 179 # text = In short, the issue is an important one.

# sent_id = 180 # text = If we look at the situation where safety advisers are concerned, in a number of countries it is compulsory to employ such safety advisers in companies as from 1 January of this year.

# sent_id = 181 # text = There will be major problems with enforcing this rule at present, especially with smaller companies, as these cannot afford safety advisors.

# sent_id = 182 # text = These smaller companies either dispose of their cargo or mix it with other cargo, which causes problems.

# sent_id = 183 # text = It is therefore also being requested that ISO 9002 certificates possibly include the finer details of these activities in the form of annual reports and company analyses.

# sent_id = 184 # text = The work is done.

# sent_id = 185 # text = I would like to mention one final point.

# sent_id = 186 # text = With regard to enforcement, proper agreements must also be concluded with the Eastern European countries because they will not enter into treaties which deal with this matter until 1 July 2001, that is to say in eighteen months' time.

# sent_id = 187 # text = This gives them a competitive edge for the interim period.

# sent_id = 188 # text = This is not in itself anything dreadful, but we should prioritise particularly the safety aspects for goods transported by road, rail and inland waterways and incorporate these, as part of the acquis communautaire, as soon as possible and present them to the acceding states.

# sent_id = 189 # text = Madam President, the importance of transport safety is highlighted on a regular basis in this Parliament and rightly so.

# sent_id = 190 # text = The ever increasing volume of goods passing through Europe entails all kinds of risks, known and unknown, for employees and the social environment.

# sent_id = 191 # text = Those having to deal with these risks should therefore meet stringent requirements.

# sent_id = 192 # text = The relevant standards which have been laid down in another Directive, 95/35/EC, seem sufficiently adequate to advise people in a responsible manner on the organisation of the transport of dangerous goods.

# sent_id = 193 # text = I am very pleased that agreement has also been reached with the Council on minimum standards regarding examinations, although I would have preferred it if uniform, set standards and modules had been established, so that certificates would be of equal value internationally.

# sent_id = 194 # text = This, however, does not seem feasible.

# sent_id = 195 # text = Finally, the amendment tabled by the rapporteur is perfectly logical and I can, therefore, give it my wholehearted support.

# sent_id = 196 # text = Mr President, Commissioner, I should first like to congratulate Mr Koch on his reports which, though technical, are nonetheless of very great significance for safety.

# sent_id = 197 # text = I should like to make just a few comments.

# sent_id = 198 # text = Firstly, I should like to ask the Commissioner - and I am convinced that my request will fall on fertile ground - to ensure that more attention is paid to the issue of safety, be it on the roads, on the waterways or at sea.

# sent_id = 199 # text = Considering that it is only today that we are dealing with a Commission proposal first made on 19 March 1998, even though Parliament responded relatively quickly, this time lag is a little too long.

# sent_id = 200 # text = My second point has already been mentioned:

# sent_id = 201 # text = In principle, I believe that in many cases where transport is concerned we should be working towards increased flexibility and country-specific rules.

# sent_id = 202 # text = However, when it comes to safety, I am rather sceptical because safety in Sweden, for example, is in principle no different from safety in Germany, Italy or Austria.

# sent_id = 203 # text = Should flexibility of this kind result in there being inadequate rules in some countries then we should work towards greater harmonisation.

# sent_id = 204 # text = My third point has also been mentioned already.

# sent_id = 205 # text = As you know, like Mr Rack, I come from a transit country, where this issue plays a particularly important role.

# sent_id = 206 # text = We do not want to make the conditions of competition worse for some countries unilaterally and improve them for countries such as Austria or other transit countries.

# sent_id = 207 # text = Mr President, I would firstly like to congratulate the rapporteur, Mr Koch, on his magnificent work and his positive cooperation with the Commission with regard to improving the texts and presenting this report and this proposal;

# sent_id = 208 # text = in the end there is only one amendment on the requirements for the aptitude examination for safety advisers in the transport of dangerous goods by road, rail or inland waterway.

# sent_id = 209 # text = We understand that it is important that the two institutions - Parliament and Commission - cooperate and work together and that the current cooperation with the Committee on Regional Policy, and in particular the transport group, is magnificent.

# sent_id = 210 # text = The common position includes practically all of the amendments accepted by the Commission and harmonises the minimum examination requirements for safety advisers and, at second reading, we can accept the amendment on the proposed date, which is much more realistic than the one originally suggested by the Commission, bearing in mind that we have now spent several years debating this question.

# sent_id = 211 # text = Very briefly, I would like to thank the various Members for their interventions and to tell you that safety is one of the Commission's priorities in the field of transport.

# sent_id = 212 # text = As Mr Simpson has said very correctly, this is a process which we can never take for granted or regard as having come to an end.

# sent_id = 213 # text = The process of increasing safety margins and safety guarantees in transport is a process which must be improved day by day.

# sent_id = 214 # text = In this regard, I would also like to refer very briefly to the problems of the tunnels, which Messrs Rack and Swoboda have referred to, which, in the case of Austria, is doubtless a very sensitive issue, and great effort should be made to improve their safety.

# sent_id = 215 # text = In one of the worst accidents to have occurred recently, the goods being transported were not dangerous in themselves.

# sent_id = 216 # text = Margarine and a few kilos of paint which, in principle, do not present risks, led to a genuine disaster.

# sent_id = 217 # text = Therefore, we will have to see how the requirements guaranteeing the maximum degree of safety can be further improved.

# sent_id = 218 # text = Finally, I would like to say that we have to consider safety in all types of transport.

# sent_id = 219 # text = This week we will be holding a debate here on the safety of sea transport, in light of the Erika disaster, and in the course of this year we will have to discuss our objectives in terms of the safety of air transport.

# sent_id = 220 # text = But I would like to say that safety is a priority objective for the Commission.

# sent_id = 221 # text = As I will say in the debate on the Erika disaster, we do not wait until there is a disaster to deal with the question of safety, but we work on it even when there are no such circumstances, which simply serve to demonstrate the urgency for an effective response to this type of problem.

# sent_id = 222 # text = I would like to repeat my appreciation to all the speakers and especially to the rapporteur, Mr Koch.

# sent_id = 223 # text = The debate is closed.

# sent_id = 224 # text = The vote will take place tomorrow at 12 p.m..

# sent_id = 225 # text = Transport of dangerous goods by road.

# sent_id = 226 # text = The next item is the report (A5-0104/1999) by Mr Koch, on behalf of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism, on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive amending Directive 94/55/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States with regard to the transport of dangerous goods by road [COM (1999) 158-C5-0004/1999-1999/0083 (COD)].

# sent_id = 227 # text = Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the Directive on the approximation of the laws of the member states with regard to the transport of dangerous goods by road, which entered into force on 1 January 1997, contains a number of transitional provisions which are only valid for a limited period of time, the term of validity being linked to the completion of specific standardisation work by the CEN, that is the European committee for standardisation.

# sent_id = 228 # text = Delays in the CEN's work are now making it difficult to apply this very Directive.

# sent_id = 229 # text = In particular, annexes cannot be adapted to take account of technical and industrial developments.

# sent_id = 230 # text = I regret this since we are having to take action because others have not done their job.

# sent_id = 231 # text = In this respect, I accept this proposal to amend Directive 94/55/EC which has been tabled for discussion today.

# sent_id = 232 # text = Should the European Union fail to take action, then Member States would be obliged to amend their national legislation for a very brief period, until the CEN completes its work, which would cause unnecessary cost and uncertainty.

# sent_id = 233 # text = The amendment to the Directive on today's agenda does not therefore affect the existing harmonisation of the transport of dangerous goods in the community.

# sent_id = 234 # text = It merely prolongs transitional rules by postponing deadlines, deletes provisions which are no longer applicable, and lays down the procedures for a) carrying out the ad hoc transportation of dangerous goods and b) enacting less stringent national regulations, in particular for the transport of very small amounts of dangerous goods within strictly defined local areas.

# sent_id = 235 # text = The amendment to the Directive is consequently in full accordance with the principle of subsidiarity;

# sent_id = 236 # text = the Member States obtain more powers.

# sent_id = 237 # text = In so doing, it is supported by a committee of experts on the transport of dangerous goods under the regulatory procedure.

# sent_id = 238 # text = The procedures for the exercise of these implementing powers conferred on the Commission were laid down afresh in the Council Decision of June 1999.

# sent_id = 239 # text = Two of the amendments tabled and adopted unanimously by the committee relate precisely to this amended comitology procedure.

# sent_id = 240 # text = We would like to ensure that there is a reference to this as early as the recitals and that the period within which the Council has to make a decision - which is not clearly worded - is set at a maximum of three months.

# sent_id = 241 # text = In addition, the need for greater transparency has been pointed out.

# sent_id = 242 # text = A final amendment is intended to ensure that tanks and tankers put into service between 1 January 1997 and the entry into force of this Directive may continue to be used provided that they have been constructed and maintained in accordance with it.

# sent_id = 243 # text = Mr President, colleagues, a happy new year and millennium to you all.

# sent_id = 244 # text = I would like to briefly comment on the Commission's proposal to amend the Directive on the transport of dangerous goods by road.

# sent_id = 245 # text = It is good that this Directive should be established now, as, otherwise, member states would have to amend their national acts for a very short time, a period of transition, which would again mean unnecessary costs and which would once more increase concern with regard to EU bureaucracy.

# sent_id = 246 # text = My amendments concern the frost-resistance ratings for tankers carrying these dangerous goods.

# sent_id = 247 # text = According to the Commission's proposal -20º C would have been sufficient.

# sent_id = 248 # text = On the shores of the Mediterranean, it is hard to imagine that in Lapland temperatures can fall considerably lower than that.

# sent_id = 249 # text = There is support for the EU in Lapland also, so let us remember them.

# sent_id = 250 # text = I have thus proposed that the frost rating be lowered to -40° C.

# sent_id = 251 # text = This would be necessary to keep safety standards at the level they were in northern regions previously.

# sent_id = 252 # text = Mr President, with your permission I should like to begin by expressing my admiration for the way in which you executed the quick changeover of the chairmanship just now during the debate.

# sent_id = 253 # text = I thought that it was quite superb.

# sent_id = 254 # text = On the subject at hand, I think that the people of Europe must be able to be confident that the goods - however dangerous they are - which are transported on Europe's roads, railways, and so on are as safe as possible.

# sent_id = 255 # text = This Directive is a contribution to this.

# sent_id = 256 # text = What we are doing today is essentially a nuisance.

# sent_id = 257 # text = The rapporteur, Mr Koch, to whom we express our thanks for the work which he has done on this, has already pointed out that basically everything could have been somewhat more advanced had it not been for the inactivity on the part of the CEN, which has been very dilatory in drawing up and adapting the Directive.

# sent_id = 258 # text = This is also important where the prerequisites for the internal market are concerned.

# sent_id = 259 # text = If we are to get a common transport market genuinely up and running, it is important that we should not only have regulations but that these regulations should also, as far as possible, apply to every country.

# sent_id = 260 # text = I should like to conclude by commenting on a third matter which is also of significance, namely an amendment tabled by Member of Parliament, Mr Ari Vatanen.

# sent_id = 261 # text = By approving this amendment, we take account of the fact that it can be very cold in the northern parts of the European Union.

# sent_id = 262 # text = This makes it necessary to also take account of the ways in which materials and packaging are affected by cold of this kind.

# sent_id = 263 # text = It is good that, in establishing the present regulations, we can also be flexible.

# sent_id = 264 # text = I hope that the Commission is able to accept the present amendment.

# sent_id = 265 # text = Mr President, I would like to thank not only Mr Koch, but also the Vice-President of the Commission for the clear and unambiguous way in which they have declared their support for safety in the transport sector and acknowledged it as a priority.

# sent_id = 266 # text = For one thing is clear:

# sent_id = 267 # text = We all regret that the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) has not been able, in the required time, to carry out the amendment of the provisions necessary for the required harmonisation within the European Union.

# sent_id = 268 # text = This debate and the amendment of the Directive currently in force allow us to incorporate differentiating elements which demonstrate the diversity of this Europe of ours.

# sent_id = 269 # text = A moment ago, Mr Vatanen spoke to us of lower temperatures, not of 20 degrees below zero, but of 40 degrees below zero.

# sent_id = 270 # text = Of course, we accept that amendment - it is absolutely right - and I believe that we should incorporate specific circumstances which demonstrate the climatic diversity of the European Union, which sometimes take the form of specifics and of concrete requirements for the establishment of standards and characterisations of a technical nature.

# sent_id = 271 # text = I would like to say, with regard to Mr Swoboda's comments on the activity of the CEN, that we are urging them to speed up their work as much as possible because it would be terrible if, despite the new deadline, we were to find ourselves after a year and a bit with the same difficulties because their work has not been concluded.

# sent_id = 272 # text = The Commission accepts all of the contributions of the parliamentary committee and the rapporteur, Mr Koch, which are contained in the various amendments, specifically four.

# sent_id = 273 # text = We therefore accept the four amendments which have been proposed.

# sent_id = 274 # text = Structural Funds-Cohesion Fund coordination.

# sent_id = 275 # text = The next item is the report (A5-0108/1999) by Mrs Schroedter, on behalf of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism, on the communication from the Commission in the field of the Structural Funds and their coordination with the Cohesion Fund:

# sent_id = 276 # text = Mr President, it is particularly pleasing for me to make my first speech in the European Parliament on what is regarded as the most important issue within that part of the United Kingdom that I represent in this Parliament, namely Wales.

# sent_id = 277 # text = A major part of Wales, as you know, has been granted Objective 1 status under the Structural Funds programme.

# sent_id = 278 # text = It is quite clear that many people within Wales are looking to the European Structural Funds programme to alleviate some of the great difficulties that we undoubtedly face.

# sent_id = 279 # text = We have seen the gap between rich and poor widen.

# sent_id = 280 # text = We are looking, therefore, within the Structural Funds programme not just to see industrial restructuring but also to see a wider improvement in the whole of the economic base within the Principality.

# sent_id = 281 # text = That is why I want to highlight some of the issues that I believe the Commission must have at the forefront.

# sent_id = 282 # text = We look to the Commission to deal with points in relation to additionality.

# sent_id = 283 # text = We are dissatisfied with the fact that those figures seem to have been in some way hidden within UK figures.

# sent_id = 284 # text = We look to the Commission also to ensure that there is matched funding for projects.

# sent_id = 285 # text = We look to it to challenge the UK Government, to ensure that the private sector, which surely must be providing the major impetus for Structural Funds expenditure, is involved in the planning stage.

# sent_id = 286 # text = Finally, we ask that the Commission ensures that Structural Fund monies are spent in a way which is transparent.

# sent_id = 287 # text = Too much of what takes place within this Parliament is not transparent.

# sent_id = 288 # text = This is one area in which I believe the Commission can be a very great friend to Wales.

# sent_id = 289 # text = Mr President, our committee views these issues very differently and, to start, I will speak from the point of view of research.

# sent_id = 290 # text = We see it as a very positive sign that, in her own conclusions, the rapporteur has taken account of our committee's proposal that the Cohesion Fund countries should broaden the research infrastructure by locating universities and colleges in such a way that they would serve those who live in undeveloped regions better than now and make it easier for educated people to remain in their home districts.

# sent_id = 291 # text = Another matter we would like to address, specifically from the point of view of industrial policy, is that we would have liked the Commission to pay more attention to the effects of services, electronic commerce and the growing use of the Internet, when they were planning the coordination of Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds.

# sent_id = 292 # text = Poverty and wealth used to depend more on means of livelihood.

# sent_id = 293 # text = In my opinion the committee drafting the report has not taken sufficient account of this, so on behalf of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, I would draw the Commission's attention to this issue.

# sent_id = 294 # text = Finally, as the committee representing energy, we would have liked the issue of support for renewable energy resources from Cohesion and Regional Development funds to have been emphasised still more, thus, through a process of coordination, increasing the use of renewables so that the scant funding resources in the energy programme might have been compensated by means of these more substantial sums.

# sent_id = 295 # text = I would like to draw people's attention to Amendments Nos 1 and 2 which were agreed by the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs but not accepted by the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism.

# sent_id = 296 # text = These amendments deal with the social economy and the need to provide social risk capital and support financially local schemes to develop employment opportunities and strengthen social cohesion.

# sent_id = 297 # text = In the past, this Parliament has viewed the social economy as an important potential provider of employment.

# sent_id = 298 # text = These amendments also fit in with this Parliament's view that social exclusion is a serious issue needing constructive action.

# sent_id = 299 # text = We hope that those considering rejection of these amendments have very powerful reasons to offer to both Parliament and their citizens who are seeking employment.

# sent_id = 300 # text = In her report, Mrs Flautre also drew attention to an area where coordination is sorely lacking, yet desperately needed.

# sent_id = 301 # text = The Commission proposals refer to the four pillars of employment strategy and the five fields of action of the European Social Fund.

# sent_id = 302 # text = It could be said that the omission gives the impression that the Commission too has no idea how to provide maximum coordination between European Social Fund assistance, which is subject to review after three and a half years, and the Member States' annual national plans for employment.

# sent_id = 303 # text = We hope that the Commission can reassure us that this was an oversight which is now being dealt with constructively.

# sent_id = 304 # text = Mr President, Commissioner, the proposal presented by the Commission, in accordance with its mandate, is a reasonable starting point for the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.

# sent_id = 305 # text = I would like to point out, however, that this starting point indicates to us the challenges which face us:

# sent_id = 306 # text = maintaining a population in rural areas, given the changes taking place in all types of economic activity owing to agriculture's increasing lack of importance amongst the various sources of income for rural society.

# sent_id = 307 # text = This, as well as the deficiencies in the networks of infrastructures and services and a generally very low level of employment, which furthermore is seasonal and lacks diversity, exacerbates the exodus from rural areas.

# sent_id = 308 # text = The consequences do not inspire hope.

# sent_id = 309 # text = It is the young people who are disappearing, who are getting an education and finding work outside of the rural areas, all of which has an unfavourable effect on those areas.

# sent_id = 310 # text = This lack of infrastructure is also an obstacle to the establishment of companies and the creation of jobs.

# sent_id = 311 # text = Agriculture only provides 5.5% of employment in the Union.

# sent_id = 312 # text = Furthermore, three quarters of our farm workers are part-time and require supplements to their incomes.

# sent_id = 313 # text = For this reason, one of the most important and essential objectives which we should set in the European Union is to make efforts to create new jobs in rural areas, outside of the agricultural sector, in sectors such as rural tourism, sport, culture, heritage conservation, the conversion of businesses, new technologies, services, etc..

# sent_id = 314 # text = However, even though the role of agriculture is not exclusive, it is still essential, not only to prevent economic and social disintegration and the creation of ghost towns, but also because farmers play a fundamental role in managing the land, in preserving biodiversity and in protecting the environment.

# sent_id = 315 # text = It is important to prioritise general criteria for land planning and demographic equilibrium, and to bear in mind the conclusions of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development on the five fundamental issues, which have been only partly taken up by the Committee on Transport, Regional Policy and Tourism in its points 16 and 17.

# sent_id = 316 # text = In conclusion, I would ask the Commission to take these five points into account when establishing the conclusions on the four pillars because I believe that, for the European Union, maintaining the population in rural areas must be one of the priority objectives.

# sent_id = 317 # text = Mr President, Commissioner, I would like to begin by thanking Mrs Schroedter, the rapporteur, for her work.

# sent_id = 318 # text = I would also like to thank her for her willingness to enter into dialogue with the other political groups when compromise formulas have needed to be reached in the face of this avalanche of amendments - and perhaps there are more of them than we expected - but which genuinely reflect the importance of the report we are now discussing.

# sent_id = 319 # text = We feel that it is important that the Commission takes account of the conclusions adopted by this Parliament, at least in spirit, because at this stage, it might seem as though what we are doing here is a useless exercise, and nothing but hot air.

# sent_id = 320 # text = In our amendments, we have stated the importance of the necessary synergies being produced between the Structural Funds, the Cohesion Fund and Community initiatives, so that their application should be reflected, in the best and most profitable way, by the gradual elimination of disparities between regions and by the creation of jobs which are, when all is said and done, the two central purposes of the funds we are discussing.

# sent_id = 321 # text = In order to achieve a more rapid and efficient boost for attaining these objectives, we think that those who generate employment, the real entrepreneurs and those who really guarantee new sources of employment, that is, businesspeople, must participate in this initiative.

# sent_id = 322 # text = Small and medium-sized businesses, above all, need to take part in the distribution of these funds.

# sent_id = 323 # text = If they do not, if businesspeople feel marginalised, if entrepreneurs cannot take part, not only in managing but also in receiving these funds, we will have missed an opportunity to attain our objectives more rapidly.

# sent_id = 324 # text = Also, in order to attain our objectives, to overcome the disparities between regions and to seek out sources of employment, it is crucial to give our complete support to new technologies, to transport and communications networks and to renewable energies.

# sent_id = 325 # text = All of this must be done - I repeat - with the participation of private business, which, by uniting its efforts with those of public administrations, but complementing them, never obstructing or excluding them, will lead to the creation of wealth in society and of jobs.

# sent_id = 326 # text = Mr President, it is incumbent upon me to remind my colleague, Mr Evans, of why Wales actually achieved Objective 1 status.

# sent_id = 327 # text = It was because of the discredited policies of his own Conservative Party.

# sent_id = 328 # text = Let me also remind him that when his party leader, Mr Hague, was Secretary of State for Wales, he broke every rule in the book on additionality which led to a stern letter from Commissioner Wulf-Mathies regarding regulatory requirements.

# sent_id = 329 # text = I can tell you that the British Government is aware of its regulatory requirements on Objective 1 additionality.

# sent_id = 330 # text = I suggest Mr Evans goes back and reads the Regulation.

# sent_id = 331 # text = My Group has made extensive amendments to both reports up for debate today.

# sent_id = 332 # text = I want to focus our minds on the essential role of the guidelines.

# sent_id = 333 # text = It is important to identify the skills and potential of our regions in the hi-tech sector.

# sent_id = 334 # text = It is particularly important in the light of reports in the media that Europe is rapidly losing ground to the US in the hi-tech growth industries of the future.

# sent_id = 335 # text = They should not be about creating additional layers of bureaucracy and red tape.

# sent_id = 336 # text = The implementation and operation of the guidelines cannot be left to the personal interpretation of one or other desk officer, either in the Commission or in thecivil service.

# sent_id = 337 # text = There must be an internal coherence in the Commission directorate, while respecting the specific local and regional aspects of Commission programmes.

# sent_id = 338 # text = The conclusion is that we must make the case for guidelines to be broad, indicative and flexible to assist our programme managers and fund-users and to get the maximum potential out of our new fields of regeneration.

# sent_id = 339 # text = The rapporteur has also quite rightly stated that Parliament was not heard in time regarding the guidelines.

# sent_id = 340 # text = Hopefully, the stands Parliament has taken will help, however, in the mid-term appraisal of the programmes and in their practical implementation.

# sent_id = 341 # text = For the time, the report grew too large when it was being debated.

# sent_id = 342 # text = At this stage it is more important to concentrate on assessing how we can use this process to steer Union regional policy, bearing in mind that the aim is to reduce regional inequality.

# sent_id = 343 # text = Our Group emphasises the importance of the principle of subsidiarity, the responsibility of Member States and the role of local players in drafting and implementing programmes.

# sent_id = 344 # text = It is especially important to get SMEs involved in the planning and implementation of programmes.

# sent_id = 345 # text = Our Group also considers it important to take greater account of remote and peripheral areas and wishes to increase interaction between towns and rural areas.

# sent_id = 346 # text = Projects implemented with support from the Union have had their effect watered down all too often by slow decision making and complicated administrative processes.

# sent_id = 347 # text = Funds have often been granted for projects which have had no lasting benefit for the area concerned.

# sent_id = 348 # text = Projects have to be carried out more efficiently, more flexibly and they have to be made more productive.

# sent_id = 349 # text = While the report was being prepared, it was interesting to discuss the Union's regional policy in general.

# sent_id = 350 # text = For us new members, it was the first time, and this was a very interesting process.

# sent_id = 351 # text = This report is very good and our Group supports it.

# sent_id = 352 # text = Mr President, Commissioner, as proof that this Parliament has not yet overcome its role as a consultative and subordinate institution, the excellent report by a fellow member of my Group, Elisabeth Schroedter, has not been able to reach plenary sitting because the plans for regional development for the period 2000-2006 for Objective 1 regions have been sitting in the Commission's offices for several months.

# sent_id = 353 # text = Bearing this in mind, this House should, in any event, demand that, before the Community support frameworks for the period in question are approved, they be studied and submitted for debate in this Parliament, specifically in light of the guidelines that we have presented today.

# sent_id = 354 # text = Mr President, we should not forget that the main, strategic objective of the Structural and Cohesion Funds and of their coordination is to achieve economic and social cohesion.

# sent_id = 355 # text = We are obliged to participate in drafting Directives and also in assessing their results.

# sent_id = 356 # text = We are obliged to do so because we are the representatives of the citizens in a Europe of Citizens and not just in a Europe of States and of Regions.

# sent_id = 357 # text = We feel that the Funds are a necessary but insufficient condition for achieving economic and social cohesion.

# sent_id = 358 # text = We might be mistaken in using the gross domestic product per inhabitant as the sole indicator.

# sent_id = 359 # text = Some speakers have already mentioned unemployment and the fall in population.

# sent_id = 360 # text = We will have to study several indicators, which will enable us to see the current state of regional societies that are in a worse situation than others, and how they are evolving.

# sent_id = 361 # text = It is clear from some of the reports that have been presented to Parliament's plenary sitting today that Europe's 25 most prosperous regions enjoy a level of unemployment which is five times lower than in the 25 least prosperous regions.

# sent_id = 362 # text = This fact means that the European Parliament, the Commissioner and the Commission must act decisively and strategically.

# sent_id = 363 # text = I agree that the European Parliament did not have the opportunity - or that it was not given the opportunity, as we had reached the end of the parliamentary term - to discuss the Directives.

# sent_id = 364 # text = I do not think, however, that this report has come too late.

# sent_id = 365 # text = We all agree that we should ask that, halfway through these programmes, when the assessment of the Directives is made, Parliament should be given an equally influential role on the grounds that we are the citizens' representatives.

# sent_id = 366 # text = Our citizens cannot accept that the European Union takes decisions in a way that is, at least on the face of it, bureaucratic.

# sent_id = 367 # text = They need to see the political dimension working, to see that officials accept their responsibilities and that there is communication with the citizens.

# sent_id = 368 # text = This is what we are today asking the Commissioner for.

# sent_id = 369 # text = I would like to think that, given his previous experience as a regional President, he will agree to propose indicators, and a strategy, which will favour economic and social cohesion and not just productivity.

# sent_id = 370 # text = Mr President, I support the main proposals of the report concerning the administration of the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund for the period 2000-2006 and the main recommendations of the report which include the following:

# sent_id = 371 # text = Member States are urged to attach greater importance to integrated strategies for revitalising relations between towns and rural areas.

# sent_id = 372 # text = This process will continue in accordance with the financial spending guidelines laid down by the EU leaders at their Berlin Summit last year, which were supported by Parliament at its last May plenary part-session.

# sent_id = 373 # text = Key EU programmes between 1989, 1993, 1994 and 1999 have certainly helped to improve the economic competitiveness of peripheral countries and Objective 1 regions within Europe.

# sent_id = 374 # text = In conclusion, while key infrastructure projects have been supported by the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund, we should remember that the European Social Fund has played a very important role in helping the less well-off in our society.

# sent_id = 375 # text = The Social Fund has certainly improved our third-level institutions, financed our post-leaving certificate programmes and put in place comprehensive schemes to help combat youth and long-term unemployment, assist early school leavers and promote higher standards of adult literacy.

# sent_id = 376 # text = Mr President, on numerous occasions in the past I have disagreed with the rapporteur on her approach to regional policy issues.

# sent_id = 377 # text = The second point I would like to make is that we would have preferred it if the guidelines had been added to the Regulation in the form of an annex, as we and Mrs Mccarthy, as rapporteurs for the general Regulation, had asked.

# sent_id = 378 # text = I am raising the issue just to reiterate Parliament's position.

# sent_id = 379 # text = They are particularly beneficial to the Member States, and I would particularly like to draw your attention to the emphasis the Commission has placed on the issues of sustainable development, job creation and, more particularly, on equal opportunities and transport issues.

# sent_id = 380 # text = Personally, I at least am totally in favour of the guidelines.

# sent_id = 381 # text = As an islander, however, I would like to express my dissatisfaction at the lack of recognition of island development.

# sent_id = 382 # text = This is not the first time that this issue has not been given the consideration it deserves.

# sent_id = 383 # text = Commissioner, we shall continue to raise the issue, as Article 158, paragraph 1, of the Treaty of Amsterdam provides for an integrated policy for islands.

# sent_id = 384 # text = Therefore, the Commission should address the issue once and for all.

# sent_id = 385 # text = As for us in Parliament, I would like to remind you of the code of conduct between the Commission and Parliament which was signed in May.

# sent_id = 386 # text = I am absolutely certain that this code will be observed and that Parliament will keep abreast of all the developments and details concerning the implementation of the programmes.

# sent_id = 387 # text = Mr President, Commissioner, in this minute and a half I should like, first of all, to congratulate Mrs Schroedter.

# sent_id = 388 # text = I know many have already done so, but she has indeed earned our praise for being particularly open and attentive to proposals from all sides, and I think it is this openness which has given her report the quality we see today.

# sent_id = 389 # text = I share the regrets she expressed, namely that Parliament has become involved rather late in the day as regards these guidelines, since by now the procedure for negotiations with the states is so far advanced that I cannot see this report having any sort of immediate effect, which in my view is a pity.

# sent_id = 390 # text = In brief, I would like to say that we are entering the period when we are called upon to manage the programming for 2000-2006, which must be no routine period for the good reason that we have two major challenges to face.

# sent_id = 391 # text = The first is the harmonisation of national development policies and regional development policies.

# sent_id = 392 # text = Subsidies are not enough to ensure development when infrastructure and public services are lacking.

# sent_id = 393 # text = We must ask ourselves a fundamental question:

# sent_id = 394 # text = The second challenge is that of enlargement which will, of course, have a considerable impact, both in budgetary and geographical terms.

# sent_id = 395 # text = These are two areas of action which I invite the Commissioner to set up and in which I would ask him to involve us.

# sent_id = 396 # text = Finally, in this time of natural disasters, I would just like to mention the issue of the use of Structural Funds.

# sent_id = 397 # text = As you know, it is up to each State to redistribute part of the total appropriation.

# sent_id = 398 # text = Europe should not be completely absent, as the states tend to want.

# sent_id = 399 # text = Public opinion and the press nowadays accuse us of being unavailable to give a response, even though we are going to be funding a large proportion of the national operations.

# sent_id = 400 # text = I think we should be capable of saying this loud and clear.

# sent_id = 401 # text = I also think we should ensure, or ask Member States to ensure, that there is some publicity given to European aid whenever it is used to repair damage caused by natural disasters or accidents.

# sent_id = 402 # text = Mr President, the priority given to financial and monetary criteria reinforces the increase in inequalities of every shape and form.

# sent_id = 403 # text = Well, the Structural Funds have helped to apply a brake to this process.

# sent_id = 404 # text = Our project of a Europe that aims to satisfy social needs envisages the convergence of living conditions towards the highest common denominator.

# sent_id = 405 # text = What we are proposing specifically is a unified capital tax, which would make it possible to boost the funds used to support the harmonisation of social protection systems and the reduction of working hours at European level.

# sent_id = 406 # text = The Commission, however, though bound to issue guidelines, does so only reluctantly and in a vague manner.

# sent_id = 407 # text = The report put forward today re-establishes its place in the political sphere.

# sent_id = 408 # text = This is what persuades us to vote in favour of it.

# sent_id = 409 # text = Over the coming years, faced with the challenges of globalisation and eastward enlargement, Europe will, more than ever before, require appropriate detailed guidance on how to plan and revitalise its economy.

# sent_id = 410 # text = To this end, Europe as a whole, and each Member State individually, will have to make optimum use of all available resources and capacities, including the Structural Funds.

# sent_id = 411 # text = For this to be possible, what we need from the European Commission are not just good intentions, but clearer guidelines and a firm commitment to monitoring the way these resources are used by the Member States.

# sent_id = 412 # text = For example, in recent years Italy has had problems in utilising the Structural Funds, mainly because of excessive bureaucracy, insufficient information and a lack of involvement of economic and social operators at local level.

# sent_id = 413 # text = There are, therefore, two points to which I would like to draw the Commission's attention.

# sent_id = 414 # text = Firstly, we need to make the best possible use of consultation as a means of ensuring proper coordination and participation by all local and regional operators in decision-making, precisely so that imbalances and inequalities can be avoided.

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# sent_id = 417 # text = Is it true that Facebook is going to charge to use the site?

# sent_id = 418 # text = Facebook is a free site and will never require that you pay to continue using the site.

# sent_id = 419 # text = You do, however, have the option of purchasing Facebook credits, which can be used to send gifts or to purchase items on applications or games.

# sent_id = 420 # text = What is the minimum age required to sign up for Facebook?

# sent_id = 421 # text = In order to be eligible to sign up for Facebook, people must be 13 years of age or older.

# sent_id = 422 # text = Can I create a joint Facebook account or share a Facebook account with someone else?

# sent_id = 423 # text = Facebook accounts are for individual use.

# sent_id = 424 # text = This means that we don't allow joint accounts.

# sent_id = 425 # text = Additionally, you can only sign up for one Facebook account per email address.

# sent_id = 426 # text = Since each account belongs to one person, we require everyone to use their real name on their account.

# sent_id = 427 # text = This way, you always know who you're connecting with.

# sent_id = 428 # text = Learn more about our name policies.

# sent_id = 429 # text = After you create an account, you can use Friendship Pages to see your interactions with any friend, all in one place.

# sent_id = 430 # text = Why am I getting a Facebook invitation email from a friend?

# sent_id = 431 # text = You received this email because a Facebook member is inviting you to join Facebook.

# sent_id = 432 # text = Facebook allows members to send invites to their contacts by entering an email address or by uploading their contacts.

# sent_id = 433 # text = If you'd like to, you can add this email address to your existing Facebook account to ensure that you won't get Facebook invites sent to you in the future.

# sent_id = 434 # text = If you are not already a Facebook member and would like to join, you can use this email to start the registration process.

# sent_id = 435 # text = If you wish to no longer receive invites from your friends, you can use the unsubscribe link in the footer of the email.

# sent_id = 436 # text = Create an account.

# sent_id = 437 # text = What's the difference between logging in and signing up?

# sent_id = 438 # text = If you don't have a Facebook account, you can sign up for one in a few easy steps.

# sent_id = 439 # text = If you already have a Facebook account, you can log in to your account from the same page.

# sent_id = 440 # text = Just enter your email address and password into the section at the top of the page and click "Log In".

# sent_id = 441 # text = What is the minimum password strength?

# sent_id = 442 # text = How can I make my password strong?

# sent_id = 443 # text = When creating a new password, be sure that it is at least 6 characters in length and that you use a complex string of numbers, letters, and punctuation marks.

# sent_id = 444 # text = If the password you entered is not strong enough, you may want to try mixing uppercase and lowercase letters or making your password longer.

# sent_id = 445 # text = Ideally, the password you select should be easy for you to remember but hard for someone else to figure out.

# sent_id = 446 # text = For added security, your Facebook password should also be different than other passwords that you use on the internet.

# sent_id = 447 # text = How do I add a security question to my account?

# sent_id = 448 # text = Having a security question is a useful way to verify you own your account if you ever lose access to it.

# sent_id = 449 # text = You can add a security question to your account from your Security Settings page:

# sent_id = 450 # text = Click the account menu at the top right of any Facebook page and choose Account Settings.

# sent_id = 451 # text = From the left column menu, click Security.

# sent_id = 452 # text = Click on the Security Question section and follow the onsite steps.

# sent_id = 453 # text = You won't see this section if you've already added a security question to your account.

# sent_id = 454 # text = Tips for picking a good security question:

# sent_id = 455 # text = Pick a question and answer you know you'll remember.

# sent_id = 456 # text = Keep your security question a secret.

# sent_id = 457 # text = Make sure your answer is specific enough that it can't be guessed easily.

# sent_id = 458 # text = You can improve the overall security of your account by updating your security information.

# sent_id = 459 # text = Reach over 800 million people where they connect and share.

# sent_id = 460 # text = Create an Advert or contact our sales team.

# sent_id = 461 # text = Reach your target customers.

# sent_id = 462 # text = Connect with more than 800 million potential customers.

# sent_id = 463 # text = Select your audience by location, age and interests.

# sent_id = 464 # text = Test simple image and text-based adverts and use what works.

# sent_id = 465 # text = Promote your Facebook Page or website.

# sent_id = 466 # text = Use our "Like" button to increase the influence of your advert.

# sent_id = 467 # text = Build a community around your business.

# sent_id = 468 # text = Control your budget.

# sent_id = 469 # text = Set the daily budget you are comfortable with.

# sent_id = 470 # text = Adjust your daily budget at any time.

# sent_id = 471 # text = Choose to pay only when people click (CPC) or see people your advert (CPM).

# sent_id = 472 # text = Reach the right people at the right time.

# sent_id = 473 # text = People treat Facebook as an authentic part of their lives, so you can be sure you are connecting with real people with real interest in your products.

# sent_id = 474 # text = Over 12 months, CM Photographics generated nearly 40,000 dollars in revenue directly from a 600 dollars advertising investment on Facebook.

# sent_id = 475 # text = Of the Facebook users who were directed to CM Photographics’ website from the adverts, 60% became qualified leads and actively expressed interest in more information.

# sent_id = 476 # text = Flexible pricing and real-time suggested bids provide guidance for cost-effective advert campaigns.

# sent_id = 477 # text = Facebook Adverts makes it easy and cost-effective to quickly set up and manage your campaign.

# sent_id = 478 # text = G5 found success setting up a series of Facebook Advert campaigns targeted to college students at 21 campuses prior to summer break for Storquest self service storage facilities.

# sent_id = 479 # text = Real-time suggested bids for our auction-based system provided guidance that enabled G5 to hone advert effectiveness based on their various targeting filters (age, college level and location).

# sent_id = 480 # text = The results from Storquest's Facebook advert campaign were one of their highest performing online advertising efforts:

# sent_id = 481 # text = Over 50% increase in total rentals versus prior year at the same store.

# sent_id = 482 # text = On par with Google Adwords on a cost-per-lead and cost-per-customer basis.

# sent_id = 483 # text = 1.25 dollars CPC delivered 10.25 dollars cost-per-lead.

# sent_id = 484 # text = Combining marketing solutions on Facebook for a positive ROI.

# sent_id = 485 # text = When you have a broader presence on Facebook with Facebook pages or Facebook events plus adverts for instance, you can turn your advertising message into a trusted referral by including content from a user’s friends who are already affiliated with your products.

# sent_id = 486 # text = ANA took this approach by creating a Facebook page to acquire interested users for ongoing messaging opportunities and developing a compelling advertising campaign.

# sent_id = 487 # text = Average campaigns for ANA result in CTR of 8–12%.

# sent_id = 488 # text = Facebook Adverts resulted in a 25% CTR.

# sent_id = 489 # text = Conversions resulted in positive ROI which is unique for ANA considering their product is not an impulse purchase for most people and Japan is not traditionally seen as a leisure destination.

# sent_id = 490 # text = Introducing the "Subscribe" Button.

# sent_id = 491 # text = You've always been subscribed to friends.

# sent_id = 492 # text = Now you can hear from journalists, celebrities, political figures and other people too.

# sent_id = 493 # text = Click the "Subscribe" button on someone's Profile to get their public updates in your News Feed.

# sent_id = 494 # text = Find people to subscribe to.

# sent_id = 495 # text = Fine-tune your News Feed.

# sent_id = 496 # text = Use the "Subscribe" button to choose what you see from friends and others in News Feed.

# sent_id = 497 # text = For each person, you could hide all game stories, see just photos, limit updates to life events and more.

# sent_id = 498 # text = Get your own subscribers.

# sent_id = 499 # text = Let anyone get your public updates.

# sent_id = 500 # text = Allowing subscribers is a simple way to broaden your conversation on Facebook, while reserving personal updates for people you know well.

# sent_id = 501 # text = Common questions.

# sent_id = 502 # text = You've always been subscribed to your friends.

# sent_id = 503 # text = Why don't all profiles have a "Subscribe" button?

# sent_id = 504 # text = Only people who allow subscribers will have a "Subscribe" button on their profile.

# sent_id = 505 # text = How do people subscribe to my updates?

# sent_id = 506 # text = After you allow subscribers, a "Subscribe" button will show up on your Profile.

# sent_id = 507 # text = Your public updates will appear in people's News Feeds once they click this button.

# sent_id = 508 # text = If I allow subscribers, what updates will they see?

# sent_id = 509 # text = Subscribers can see only the things you share publicly.

# sent_id = 510 # text = They can also choose how many and what types of these public updates they get.

# sent_id = 511 # text = Learn more about the "Subscribe" button in the Help Centre.

# sent_id = 512 # text = Learn about the differences between allowing subscribers and using a Page.

# sent_id = 513 # text = Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-using products and amending Council Directive 92/42/EEC and Directives 96/57/EC and 2000/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.

# sent_id = 514 # text = The harmonisation of national laws is the only means to prevent such barriers to trade and unfair competition.

# sent_id = 515 # text = (2) Energy-using products (EUPs) account for a large proportion of the consumption of natural resources and energy in the Community.

# sent_id = 516 # text = They also have a number of other important environmental impacts.

# sent_id = 517 # text = For the vast majority of product categories available on the Community market, very different degrees of environmental impact can be noted though they provide similar functional performances.

# sent_id = 518 # text = In the interest of sustainable development, continuous improvement in the overall environmental impact of those products should be encouraged, notably by identifying the major sources of negative environmental impacts and avoiding transfer of pollution, when this improvement does not entail excessive costs.

# sent_id = 519 # text = (3) The ecodesign of products is a crucial factor in the Community strategy on Integrated Product Policy.

# sent_id = 520 # text = As a preventive approach, designed to optimise the environmental performance of products, while maintaining their functional qualities, it provides genuine new opportunities for manufacturers, for consumers and for society as a whole.

# sent_id = 521 # text = (4) Energy efficiency improvement - with one of the available options being more efficient end use of electricity - is regarded as contributing substantially to the achievement of greenhouse gas emission targets in the Community.

# sent_id = 522 # text = A significant reduction in energy consumption as suggested by the Commission in its European Climate Change Programme (ECCP) is possible.

# sent_id = 523 # text = Climate change is one of the priorities of the Sixth Community Environment Action Programme, laid down by Decision No 1600/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council [3].

# sent_id = 524 # text = Energy saving is the most cost-effective way to increase security of supply and reduce import dependency.

# sent_id = 525 # text = Therefore, substantial demand side measures and targets should be adopted.

# sent_id = 526 # text = (5) Action should be taken during the design phase of EUPs, since it appears that the pollution caused during a product's life cycle is determined at that stage, and most of the costs involved are committed then.

# sent_id = 527 # text = (6) A coherent framework for the application of Community Ecodesign requirements for EUPs should be established with the aim of ensuring the free movement of those products which comply and of improving their overall environmental impact.

# sent_id = 528 # text = Such Community requirements should respect the principles of fair competition and international trade.

# sent_id = 529 # text = (7) Ecodesign requirements should be set bearing in mind the goals and priorities of the Sixth Community Environment Action Programme, including as appropriate applicable goals of the relevant thematic strategies of that Programme.

# sent_id = 530 # text = (8) This Directive seeks to achieve a high level of protection for the environment by reducing the potential environmental impact of EUPs, which will ultimately be beneficial to consumers and other end-users.

# sent_id = 531 # text = Sustainable development also requires proper consideration of the health, social and economic impact of the measures envisaged.

# sent_id = 532 # text = Improving the energy efficiency of products contributes to the security of the energy supply, which is a precondition of sound economic activity and therefore of sustainable development.

# sent_id = 533 # text = (9) A Member State deeming it necessary to maintain national provisions on grounds of major needs relating to the protection of the environment, or to introduce new ones based on new scientific evidence relating to the protection of the environment on groundsof a problem specific to that member state arising after the adoption of the applicable implementing measure, may do so following the conditions laid down in article 95 (4), (5) and (6) of the treaty, that provides for a prior notification to and approval from the Commission.

# sent_id = 534 # text = (10) In order to maximise the environmental benefits from improved design it may be necessary to inform consumers about the environmental characteristics and performance of EUPs and to advise them about how to use products in a manner which is environmentally friendly.

# sent_id = 535 # text = (11) The approach set out in the Green Paper on Integrated Product Policy, which is a major innovative element of the Sixth Community Environment Action Programme, aims to reduce the environmental impacts of products across the whole of their life cycle.

# sent_id = 536 # text = Considering at the design stage a product's environmental impact throughout its whole life cycle has a high potential to facilitate environmental improvement in a cost-effective way.

# sent_id = 537 # text = There should be sufficient flexibility to enable this factor to be integrated in product design whilst taking account of technical, functional and economic considerations.

# sent_id = 538 # text = (12) Although a comprehensive approach to environmental performance is desirable, greenhouse gas mitigation through increased energy efficiency should be considered a priority environmental goal pending the adoption of a working plan.

# sent_id = 539 # text = (13) It may be necessary and justified to establish specific quantified ecodesign requirements for some products or environmental aspects thereof in order to ensure that their environmental impact is minimised.

# sent_id = 540 # text = Given the urgent need to contribute to the achievement of the commitments in the framework of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and without prejudice to the integrated approach promoted in this Directive, some priority should be given to those measures with a high potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions at low cost.

# sent_id = 541 # text = Such measures can also contribute to a sustainable use of resources and constitute a major contribution to the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable production and consumption agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in September 2002.

# sent_id = 542 # text = (15) While the best-performing products or technologies available on the market, including on international markets, should be taken as reference, the level of ecodesign requirements should be established on the basis of technical, economic and environmental analysis.

# sent_id = 543 # text = Flexibility in the method for establishing the level of requirements can make swift improvement of environmental performance easier.

# sent_id = 544 # text = Interested parties involved should be consulted and cooperate actively in this analysis.

# sent_id = 545 # text = The setting of mandatory measures requires proper consultation of the parties involved.

# sent_id = 546 # text = Such consultation may highlight the need for a phased introduction or transitional measures.

# sent_id = 547 # text = The introduction of interim targets increases the predictability of the policy, allows for accommodating product development cycles and facilitates long term planning for interested parties.

# sent_id = 548 # text = (16) Priority should be given to alternative courses of action such as self-regulation by the industry where such action is likely to deliver the policy objectives faster or in a less costly manner than mandatory requirements.

# sent_id = 549 # text = Legislative measures may be needed where market forces fail to evolve in the right direction or at an acceptable speed.

# sent_id = 550 # text = (18) For the assessment of voluntary agreements or other self-regulation measures presented as alternatives to implementing measures, information on at least the following issues should be available:

# sent_id = 551 # text = openness of participation, added value, representativeness, quantified and staged objectives, involvement of civil society, monitoring and reporting, cost-effectiveness of administering a self-regulatory initiative, sustainability.

# sent_id = 552 # text = 19) Chapter 6 of the Commission's "Communication on Environmental Agreements at Community level within the Framework of the Action Plan on the Simplification and Improvement of the Regulatory Environment" could provide useful guidance when assessing self-regulation by industry in the context of this Directive.

# sent_id = 553 # text = (20) This Directive should also encourage the integration of Ecodesign in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and very small firms.

# sent_id = 554 # text = Such integration could be facilitated by wide availability of and easy access to information relating to the sustainability of their products.

# sent_id = 555 # text = The rigorous enforcement of implementing measures is necessary to reduce the environmental impact of regulated EUPs and to ensure fair competition.

# sent_id = 556 # text = (22) When preparing implementing measures and its working plan the Commission should consult Member States' representatives as well as interested parties concerned with the product group, such as industry, including SMEs and craft industry, trade unions, traders, retailers, importers, environmental protection groups and consumer organisations.

# sent_id = 557 # text = (23) When preparing implementing measures, the Commission should also take due account of existing national environmental legislation, in particular concerning toxic substances, which Member States have indicated that they consider should be preserved, without reducing the existing and justified levels of protection in the Member States.

# sent_id = 558 # text = (24) Regard should be given to the modules and rules intended for use in technical harmonisation Directives set out in Council Decision 93/465/EEC of 22 July 1993 concerning the modules for the various phases of the conformity assessment procedures and the rules for the affixing and use of the CE conformity marking, which are intended to be used in the technical harmonisation Directives.

# sent_id = 559 # text = (25) Surveillance authorities should exchange information on the measures envisaged within the scope of this Directive with a view to improving surveillance of the market.

# sent_id = 560 # text = Such cooperation should make the utmost use of electronic means of communication and relevant Community programmes.

# sent_id = 561 # text = ll The exchange of information on environmental life cycle performance and on the achievements of design solutions should be facilitated.

# sent_id = 562 # text = The accumulation and dissemination of the body of knowledge generated by the ecodesign efforts of manufacturers is one of the crucial benefits of this Directive.

# sent_id = 563 # text = (26) A competent body is usually a public or private body, designated by the public authorities, and presenting the necessary guarantees for impartiality and availability of technical expertise for carrying out verification of the product with regard to its compliance with the applicable implementing measures.

# sent_id = 564 # text = (27) Noting the importance of avoiding non-compliance, Member States should ensure that the necessary means are available for effective market surveillance.

# sent_id = 565 # text = (28) In respect of training and information on ecodesign for SMEs, it may be appropriate to consider accompanying activities.

# sent_id = 566 # text = (29) It is in the interest of the functioning of the internal market to have standards which have been harmonised at Community level.

# sent_id = 567 # text = Once the reference to such a standard has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, compliance with it should raise a presumption of conformity with the corresponding requirements set out in the implementing measure adopted on the basis of this Directive, although other means of demonstrating such conformity should be permitted.

# sent_id = 568 # text = (30) One of the main roles of harmonised standards should be to help manufacturers in applying the implementing measures adopted under this Directive.

# sent_id = 569 # text = Such standards could be essential in establishing measuring and testing methods.

# sent_id = 570 # text = In the case of generic ecodesign requirements harmonised standards could contribute considerably to guiding manufacturers in establishing the ecological profile of their products in accordance with the requirements of the applicable implementing measure.

# sent_id = 571 # text = These standards should clearly indicate the relationship between their clauses and the requirements dealt with.

# sent_id = 572 # text = The purpose of harmonised standards should not be to fix limits for environmental aspects.

# sent_id = 573 # text = (31) For the purpose of definitions used in this Directive it is useful to refer to relevant international standards such as ISO 14040 (32).

# sent_id = 574 # text = This Directive is in accordance with certain principles for the implementation of the new approach as set out in the Council Resolution of 7 May 1985 on a new approach to technical harmonisation and standards and of making reference to harmonised European standards.

# sent_id = 575 # text = The Council Resolution of 28 October 1999 on the role of standardisation in Europe recommended that the Commission should examine whether the New Approach principle could be extended to sectors not yet covered as a means of improving and simplifying legislation wherever possible.

# sent_id = 576 # text = (33) This Directive is complementary to existing Community instruments such as Council Directive 92/75/EEC of 22 September 1992 on the indication by labelling and standard product information of the consumption of energy and other resources by household appliances, Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000 on a revised Community eco-label award scheme, Regulation (EC) No 2422/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 November 2001 on a Community energy efficiency labelling programme for office equipment, Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment and Council Directive 76/769/EEC of 27 July 1976 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations.

# sent_id = 577 # text = Synergies between this Directive and the existing Community instruments should contribute to increasing their respective impacts and building coherent requirements for manufacturers to apply.

# sent_id = 578 # text = (34) Since Council Directive 92/42/EEC of 21 May 1992 on efficiency requirements for new hot-water boilers fired with liquid or gaseous fuels, Directive 96/57/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 September 1996 on energy efficiency requirements for household electric refrigerators, freezers and combinations thereof and Directive 2000/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on energy efficiency requirements for ballasts for fluorescent lighting already contain provisions for the revision of the energy efficiency requirements, they should be integrated into the present framework.

# sent_id = 579 # text = (35) Directive 92/42/EEC provides for a star rating system intended to ascertain the energy performance of boilers.

# sent_id = 580 # text = Since Member States and the industry agree that the star rating system has proved not to deliver the expected result, Directive 92/42/EEC should be amended to open the way for more effective schemes.

# sent_id = 581 # text = (36) The requirements laid down in Council Directive 78/170/EEC of 13 February 1978 on the performance of heat generators for space heating and the production of hot water in new or existing non-industrial buildings and on the insulation of heat and domestic hot-water distribution in new non-industrial buildings have been superseded by provisions of Directive 92/42/EEC, Council Directive 90/396/EEC of 29 June 1990 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to appliances burning gaseous fuels and Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2002 on the energy performance of buildings.

# sent_id = 582 # text = Directive 78/170/EEC should therefore be repealed.

# sent_id = 583 # text = COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND TO THE COUNCIL concerning the implementation and continuation of the Pericles programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting.

# sent_id = 584 # text = Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION amending and extending Council Decision of 17 December 2001 establishing an exchange, assistance and training programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting (the "Pericles" programme).

# sent_id = 585 # text = Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION extending to the non-participating Member States the application of Council Decision amending and extending Council Decision of 17 December 2001 establishing an exchange, assistance and training programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting (the "Pericles" programme).

# sent_id = 586 # text = Pericles, the Community programme for exchange, assistance and training in the protection of the euro against counterfeiting, was established by Council Decision of 17 December 2001 (2001/923/EC) and is designed to support and supplement the measures undertaken by the Member States and in existing programmes to protect the euro against counterfeiting.

# sent_id = 587 # text = Such measures include information exchange (seminars, workshops, meetings and conferences), placements and exchanges of staff, as well as technical, scientific and operational back-up.

# sent_id = 588 # text = Article 1 of the Pericles Decision provides that the programme shall run from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2005.

# sent_id = 589 # text = Article 6 of the Decision set a reference amount of 4 million euro for the programme.

# sent_id = 590 # text = Article 13 (3) of the Pericles Decision provides that the Commission shall send to the European Parliament and the Council, by 30 June 2005:

# sent_id = 591 # text = - a report, independent from the programme manager, evaluating the relevance, the efficiency and the effectiveness of the programme;

# sent_id = 592 # text = - a communication on whether this programme should be continued and adapted, accompanied by an appropriate proposal.

# sent_id = 593 # text = The evaluation report of the Pericles Programme was submitted on 30 November 2004.

# sent_id = 594 # text = Since early Summer 2003, the number of counterfeit euro banknotes detected in circulation has stabilised at about 50000 a month, a level below the pre-euro levels, lower than the US dollar and extremely low compared to the nine billion genuine euro banknotes in circulation.

# sent_id = 595 # text = At the same time, the number of counterfeit euro coins is continuing to increase but also remains low by historical standards.

# sent_id = 596 # text = In addition, the police forces have successfully conducted a number of operations to dismantle workshops and seize large numbers of counterfeit banknotes and coins before they enter into circulation.

# sent_id = 597 # text = This overall favourable situation is the result of a long preparation at both legislative and institutional level and demonstrates the high level of cooperation achieved in EU and at international level.

# sent_id = 598 # text = The Commission set out the basic ideas for the protection of the euro in a Communication it published as early as 1998 [1].

# sent_id = 599 # text = And, in 1999 Europol’s mandate was extended to include money counterfeiting [4].

# sent_id = 600 # text = With regard to criminal sanctions, the Commission has published two reports [5] on the implementation of the above-mentioned Framework Decision, which show a satisfactory level of implementation.

# sent_id = 601 # text = With a view to ensuring the clear structure in the fight against currency counterfeiting as well as close cooperation and efficient flow of information National Central Offices (NCO) were established in all Member States.

# sent_id = 602 # text = Databases and communication systems are operating in the ECB and Europol.

# sent_id = 603 # text = Dedicated bodies were created for the technical analysis of counterfeits in the Member States, the ECB - for banknotes, and the Commission - for coins.

# sent_id = 604 # text = The Pericles programme is playing a significant role in achieving the present results in the protection of the euro and the fight against the crime of counterfeiting, through the exchange of information and the development of cooperation.

# sent_id = 605 # text = Continuing vigilance is needed in order to maintain and build on the results currently achieved in the fight against euro counterfeiting.

# sent_id = 606 # text = Training and technical assistance plays an important role in this respect, hence the need to continue the Pericles programme.

# sent_id = 607 # text = In line with Article 13 of the Pericles Decision, the evaluation of the Pericles programme was assigned to the independent auditor of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) who submitted the evaluation report on 30 November 2004.

# sent_id = 608 # text = The evaluator examined the files of 21 of the Pericles actions carried out until March 2004, on Member State or Commission initiative.

# sent_id = 609 # text = Based on questionnaires to organisers and participants, as well as discussions with stake holders, he reached the following main conclusions [6]:

# sent_id = 610 # text = - The programme has improved awareness of the Community dimension of the euro and has also developed a greater understanding amongst the participants of the related laws and instruments and in particular of the relevant Community and broader European law.

# sent_id = 611 # text = - With regard to the range of information exchanges and methodologies/measures, most have been presented in the various workshops, meetings and seminars.

# sent_id = 612 # text = - The target groups for the programme have been reached in part with a very high participation by law enforcement officials;

# sent_id = 613 # text = attendance by commercial banking sector, specialist lawyers or chambers of commerce was not sufficient.

# sent_id = 614 # text = - The activities examined were considered relevant to and among the main objectives of the programme.

# sent_id = 615 # text = - In terms of costs, the evaluator found that some of the projects were particularly costly and highlighted specific cost items.

# sent_id = 616 # text = The evaluator made the following main recommendations:

# sent_id = 617 # text = A second evaluation should take place after four years.

# sent_id = 618 # text = - The programme should continue to be available to all Member States but a priority should be given (in the first instance) to those with low participation or who did not organise actions in the first programme, as well as the new Member States.

# sent_id = 619 # text = - Emphasis should be put on practical training.

# sent_id = 620 # text = There should be a prioritisation in favour of staff exchanges and specific training, including case studies.

# sent_id = 621 # text = These activities are also more cost efficient.

# sent_id = 622 # text = - Co-operation between the European institutions/bodies (Commission/OLAF, ECB and Europol) should be further developed so as to eliminate any overlapping between different programmes and to further improve the co-ordination of the main actors (law enforcement, banks, prosecutors) in the fight against euro counterfeiting.

# sent_id = 623 # text = - With regard to the effect of the programme on the convergence of high level training for trainers, it was not possible to make an assessment as there was not sufficient information on the link between national strategies and the activities under Pericles.

# sent_id = 624 # text = - With a view to enabling the assessment of the effect of the programme, among others on the convergence of high level training for trainers, the evaluator recommends the preparation of a strategy document, to be finalised before the new Pericles enters into effect.

# sent_id = 625 # text = The implementation of the Programme made a slow start, mainly due to its adoption in December 2001.

# sent_id = 626 # text = Thus, the first project under Pericles was only carried out in October 2002 and the amount committed in 2002 was just under 40% of the initial budget allocation (the allocation was reviewed downwards in the course of the year).

# sent_id = 627 # text = Subsequently, the programme took off and the budget allocation was completely committed in 2003 and 2004.

# sent_id = 628 # text = Intentions for 2005 show that the remaining amount will also be completely consumed.

# sent_id = 629 # text = Based on these statistics/forecasts, the overall level of commitments during the period 2002-2005 will reach 80% of the initial reference amount.

# sent_id = 630 # text = The main aggregates in the implementation of Pericles are shown on Table 2.

# sent_id = 631 # text = In the course of the first three years of the programme 38 projects were initiated;

# sent_id = 632 # text = for 2005 another 18 actions are intended by the Member States and the Commission.

# sent_id = 633 # text = Of the total 56 projects, 41 originate at the competent authorities of Member States, while 15 are an initiative of the Commission/OLAF.

# sent_id = 634 # text = Most of the actions carried out are conferences, seminars and workshops, as well as specialised training courses.

# sent_id = 635 # text = Staff exchange has, nonetheless, gained ground and has now become a standard feature of Pericles.

# sent_id = 636 # text = Following enlargement, this type of activity is likely to develop further, which is also in line with the recommendation of the Pericles evaluator.

# sent_id = 637 # text = Only one technical study was undertaken under the current Pericles, which is planned to continue at a broader level in 2005.

# sent_id = 638 # text = The analysis of Pericles by type of project is shown in Table 3.

# sent_id = 639 # text = Almost 2600 persons participated in these events.

# sent_id = 640 # text = In earlier periods the large majority of participants were law enforcement agents, reflecting the priority to establish closer professional ties for a more efficient fight against euro counterfeiting.

# sent_id = 641 # text = In that respect, the evaluation report (p. 10 and 11) shows that, until March 2004, 65% of participants were mainly from law enforcement agencies.

# sent_id = 642 # text = As of 2003, a greater involvement of judiciary authorities is observed, while as of 2004 and 2005, there is a more pronounced participation of the financial sector (public sector financial intermediaries, National Central Banks, commercial banking and other financial institutions).

# sent_id = 643 # text = This development is in line with the recommendation of the evaluator, while the organisation of more technical seminars is also being promoted.

# sent_id = 644 # text = In terms of origin of the participants, the evaluation report notes that these came from 76 countries, with a majority from Member States.

# sent_id = 645 # text = It was noted that some countries showed a low level of participation, among them some of the euro area countries.

# sent_id = 646 # text = This situation may reflect organisational rather than structural situations and an effort to balance it is currently under way.

# sent_id = 647 # text = Some countries are more active in organising events, with Italy representing over 21% of the total number of activities.

# sent_id = 648 # text = As of 2005, the new Member States became active in organising Pericles actions.

# sent_id = 649 # text = As the evaluation report also mentions (p. 14) that the organisation of Pericles actions covered all the areas relevant to the protection of the euro:

# sent_id = 650 # text = law enforcement, judicial, financial and technical and promoted particularly the creation of networks useful for achieving greater efficiency in the fight against the crime of counterfeiting.

# sent_id = 651 # text = Contributions at the Pericles actions are ensured by the ECB, the Commission, Europol and, in some cases, Eurojust, Interpol and the US Secret Service.

# sent_id = 652 # text = With regard to the aspects of euro protection, where the responsibility belongs to the Member States, expertise was systematically sought in their specialised services.

# sent_id = 653 # text = The Pericles actions take place mostly inside the EU.

# sent_id = 654 # text = However, a number of actions have been organised in third or candidate countries, reflecting the specific needs to protect the euro.

# sent_id = 655 # text = Such is the case with actions undertaken in Colombia, for all South American countries and Bulgaria, also including other South-Eastern European countries.

# sent_id = 656 # text = As a result, the transnationality and multidisciplinarity required under Article 3 of the Pericles Decision have been respected, with the latter pursued both at the level of professional background of the participants and in terms of the content of the actions.

# sent_id = 657 # text = In line with Article 5 of the Pericles Decision, the programme is implemented and coordinated by the Commission and the Member States working closely together.

# sent_id = 658 # text = The coordination of the Pericles and other training actions is carried out at the Commission’s Euro counterfeiting experts group, which brings together experts from all member states and candidate countries, with participation of Europol, the ECB and Interpol.

# sent_id = 659 # text = This is in also line with Recital (7) of the Pericles Decision.

# sent_id = 660 # text = Pericles has now practically centralised Community level carried out by the Commission and Member States action with respect to the protection of the euro and has also largely replaced the Commission’s specific ‘ Protection of the euro ’ budget line.

# sent_id = 661 # text = A small number of actions geared on the protection against currency counterfeiting are carried out under other Community programmes, such as TAIEX and Twinning.

# sent_id = 662 # text = Such actions are mainly single-country or single-subject actions (i.e. not eligible under Pericles) and are systematically coordinated with Pericles by the competent service in the Commission in coordination with Member States.

# sent_id = 663 # text = In addition to their awareness and training content, the Pericles actions have led to a number of structural and other improvements in Member Sates and in third countries.

# sent_id = 664 # text = Among others, National Central Offices for the fight against counterfeiting were created in several countries;

# sent_id = 665 # text = two Pericles seminars assisted the (then) acceding countries in their efforts to apply the acquis in the specific area;

# sent_id = 666 # text = a code of conduct was drawn with respect to press and communication issues;

# sent_id = 667 # text = In line with the above analysis and in the light of the conclusions of the evaluator of Pericles, this Communication is accompanied by a proposal for the adaptation and continuation of Pericles.

# sent_id = 668 # text = In line with Article 13 of Council Decision of 17 December 2001 establishing an exchange, assistance and training programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting (the ‘ Pericles’ programme) and based on the Pericles evaluation report of 30 November 2004, it is proposed that the Council decision be extended and amended.

# sent_id = 669 # text = The proposed period for extension is six years and the reference amount unchanged at one million euro per year.

# sent_id = 670 # text = The adaptations proposed concern the increase of the proportion of co-financing by the Community budget;

# sent_id = 671 # text = the introduction of flexibility in the number of applications by each Member State and consequent coordination;

# sent_id = 672 # text = and the extension of the content of the technical and operational back-up to administrative support for active investigations, with intermediation by Europol.

# sent_id = 673 # text = In line also with the recommendation of the evaluator of Pericles, it is appropriate to extend the Pericles programme, based on the need to:

# sent_id = 674 # text = - continue vigilance in order to maintain or reduce the current level of euro banknote counterfeiting and avoid any increase in euro coin counterfeiting that would undermine the confidence of the public;

# sent_id = 675 # text = - train/inform new staff and extend the training to sectors that have less benefited from the Pericles programme, namely financial agents, prosecutors and technical staff;

# sent_id = 676 # text = - train relevant staff in the features of the new generation of the euro banknotes, to be issued at the end of this decade;

# sent_id = 677 # text = - particularly insist on training and technical assistance in the new Member States, with priority to those who will first introduce the euro as their single currency.

# sent_id = 678 # text = Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

# sent_id = 679 # text = Adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 217A (III) of 10 December 1948.

# sent_id = 680 # text = PREAMBLE.

# sent_id = 681 # text = Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people;

# sent_id = 682 # text = Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law;

# sent_id = 683 # text = Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations;

# sent_id = 684 # text = Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom;

# sent_id = 685 # text = Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

# sent_id = 686 # text = Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge;

# sent_id = 687 # text = Now, therefore, The General Assembly Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

# sent_id = 688 # text = Article 1.

# sent_id = 689 # text = All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

# sent_id = 690 # text = They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

# sent_id = 691 # text = Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

# sent_id = 692 # text = Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

# sent_id = 693 # text = Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person.

# sent_id = 694 # text = No one shall be held in slavery or servitude;

# sent_id = 695 # text = slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

# sent_id = 696 # text = No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

# sent_id = 697 # text = Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

# sent_id = 698 # text = All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.

# sent_id = 699 # text = All are entitled to equal protection against all types of discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to any form of discrimination.

# sent_id = 700 # text = Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

# sent_id = 701 # text = No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

# sent_id = 702 # text = Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

# sent_id = 703 # text = (1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.

# sent_id = 704 # text = (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed.

# sent_id = 705 # text = Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

# sent_id = 706 # text = No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation.

# sent_id = 707 # text = Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

# sent_id = 708 # text = (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.

# sent_id = 709 # text = (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

# sent_id = 710 # text = (2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

# sent_id = 711 # text = (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

# sent_id = 712 # text = They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

# sent_id = 713 # text = (2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

# sent_id = 714 # text = (3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

# sent_id = 715 # text = (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.

# sent_id = 716 # text = (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

# sent_id = 717 # text = Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;

# sent_id = 718 # text = this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

# sent_id = 719 # text = Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression;

# sent_id = 720 # text = (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

# sent_id = 721 # text = (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

# sent_id = 722 # text = (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

# sent_id = 723 # text = (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government;

# sent_id = 724 # text = this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

# sent_id = 725 # text = Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

# sent_id = 726 # text = (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.

# sent_id = 727 # text = (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.

# sent_id = 728 # text = (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

# sent_id = 729 # text = Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

# sent_id = 730 # text = (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

# sent_id = 731 # text = (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance.

# sent_id = 732 # text = All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

# sent_id = 733 # text = (1) Everyone has the right to education.

# sent_id = 734 # text = Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.

# sent_id = 735 # text = It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

# sent_id = 736 # text = (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

# sent_id = 737 # text = (1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.

# sent_id = 738 # text = (2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

# sent_id = 739 # text = Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

# sent_id = 740 # text = (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.

# sent_id = 741 # text = (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

# sent_id = 742 # text = (3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

# sent_id = 743 # text = Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

# sent_id = 744 # text = It can be a very complicated thing, the ocean.

# sent_id = 745 # text = And it can be a very complicated thing, what human health is.

# sent_id = 746 # text = And those simple themes aren't really themes about the complex science of what's going on, but things that we all pretty well know.

# sent_id = 747 # text = And I'm going to start with this one:

# sent_id = 748 # text = We know that, right?

# sent_id = 749 # text = We've experienced that.

# sent_id = 750 # text = That's the theme of my talk.

# sent_id = 751 # text = And we're making the ocean pretty unhappy in a lot of different ways.

# sent_id = 752 # text = This is a shot of Cannery Row in 1932.

# sent_id = 753 # text = Cannery Row, at the time, had the biggest industrial canning operation on the west coast.

# sent_id = 754 # text = We piled enormous amounts of pollution into the air and into the water.

# sent_id = 755 # text = Rolf Bolin, who was a professor at the Hopkin's Marine Station where I work, wrote in the 1940s that "The fumes from the scum floating on the inlets of the bay were so bad they turned lead-based paints black".

# sent_id = 756 # text = They say, "You know what you smell?".

# sent_id = 757 # text = That pollution was money to that community, and those people dealt with the pollution and absorbed it into their skin and into their bodies because they needed the money.

# sent_id = 758 # text = We made the ocean unhappy;

# sent_id = 759 # text = we made people very unhappy, and we made them unhealthy.

# sent_id = 760 # text = The pyramid of ocean life.

# sent_id = 761 # text = We see the base of the food chain, the plankton, the small things, and we see how those animals are food to animals in the middle of the pyramid, and on so up this diagram.

# sent_id = 762 # text = And that flow, that flow of life, from the very base up to the very top, is the flow that ecologists see.

# sent_id = 763 # text = Now why does that matter for human health?

# sent_id = 764 # text = Because when we jam things in the bottom of that pyramid that shouldn't be there, some very frightening things happen.

# sent_id = 765 # text = Now, to bring that home, I thought I'd invent a little game.

# sent_id = 766 # text = We don't really have to play it;

# sent_id = 767 # text = It's the Styrofoam and chocolate game.

# sent_id = 768 # text = Imagine that when we got on this boat, we were all given two Styrofoam peanuts.

# sent_id = 769 # text = What'll happen is that the Styrofoam peanuts will start moving through our society here, and they will accumulate in the drunkest, stingiest people.

# sent_id = 770 # text = There's no mechanism in this game for them to go anywhere but into a bigger and bigger pile of indigestible Styrofoam peanuts.

# sent_id = 771 # text = And that's exactly what happens with PCBs in this food pyramid:

# sent_id = 772 # text = They accumulate into the top of it.

# sent_id = 773 # text = Now suppose, instead of Styrofoam peanuts, we take these lovely little chocolates that we get and we had those instead.

# sent_id = 774 # text = PCBs accumulate.

# sent_id = 775 # text = PCBs accumulate in dolphins in Sarasota Bay, in Texas, in North Carolina.

# sent_id = 776 # text = They get into the food chain.

# sent_id = 777 # text = The dolphins eat the fish that have PCBs from the plankton, and those PCBs, being fat-soluble, accumulate in these dolphins.

# sent_id = 778 # text = Now, a dolphin, mother dolphin, any dolphin - there's only one way that a PCB can get out of a dolphin.

# sent_id = 779 # text = In mother's milk.

# sent_id = 780 # text = Here's a diagram of the PCB load of dolphins in Sarasota Bay.

# sent_id = 781 # text = Females after their first calf is already weaned:

# sent_id = 782 # text = Those females, they're not trying to.

# sent_id = 783 # text = The death rate in these dolphins, for the first calf born of every female dolphin, is 60 to 80 percent.

# sent_id = 784 # text = Now, the mother then can go and reproduce, but what a terrible price to pay for the accumulation of this pollutant in these animals - the death of the first-born calf.

# sent_id = 785 # text = There's another top predator in the ocean, it turns out.

# sent_id = 786 # text = And we also are eating meat that comes from some of these same places.

# sent_id = 787 # text = This is whale meat that I photographed in a grocery store in Tokyo - or is it?

# sent_id = 788 # text = In fact, what we did a few years ago was learn how to smuggle a molecular biology lab into Tokyo and use it to genetically test the DNA out of whale meat samples and identify what they really were.

# sent_id = 789 # text = And some of those whale meat samples were whale meat.

# sent_id = 790 # text = Some of them were illegal whale meat, by the way.

# sent_id = 791 # text = That's another story.

# sent_id = 792 # text = But some of them were not whale meat at all.

# sent_id = 793 # text = Even though they were labeled whale meat, they were dolphin meat.

# sent_id = 794 # text = Some of them were dolphin liver.

# sent_id = 795 # text = And those dolphin parts had a huge load of PCBs, dioxins and heavy metals.

# sent_id = 796 # text = And that huge load was passing into the people that ate this meat.

# sent_id = 797 # text = It turns out that a lot of dolphins are being sold as meat in the whale meat market around the world.

# sent_id = 798 # text = That's a tragedy for those populations, but it's also a tragedy for the people eating them because they don't know that that's toxic meat.

# sent_id = 799 # text = We had these data a few years ago.

# sent_id = 800 # text = It had two-three-to-400 times the toxic loads ever allowed by the EPA.

# sent_id = 801 # text = And I remember there sitting at my desk thinking, "Well, I know this".

# sent_id = 802 # text = "This is a great scientific discovery", but it was so awful.

# sent_id = 803 # text = FEB 10, 2014.

# sent_id = 804 # text = Death by Finance.

# sent_id = 805 # text = PRINCETON – How quickly emerging markets' fortunes have turned.

# sent_id = 806 # text = Not long ago, they were touted as the salvation of the world economy – the dynamic engines of growth that would take over as the economies of the United States and Europe sputtered.

# sent_id = 807 # text = But now the emerging-market blues are back.

# sent_id = 808 # text = The beating that these countries' currencies have taken as the US Federal Reserve begins to tighten monetary policy is just the start;

# sent_id = 809 # text = everywhere one looks, it seems, there are deep-seated problems.

# sent_id = 810 # text = Argentina and Venezuela have run out of heterodox policy tricks.

# sent_id = 811 # text = Brazil and India need new growth models.

# sent_id = 812 # text = Turkey and Thailand are mired in political crises that reflect long-simmering domestic conflicts.

# sent_id = 813 # text = This is not the first time that developing countries have been hit hard by abrupt mood swings in global financial markets.

# sent_id = 814 # text = The surprise is that we are surprised.

# sent_id = 815 # text = Economists, in particular, should have learned a few fundamental lessons long ago.

# sent_id = 816 # text = First, emerging-market hype is just that.

# sent_id = 817 # text = Instead, emerging markets' growth over the last two decades was based on a fortuitous (and temporary) set of external circumstances:

# sent_id = 818 # text = high commodity prices, low interest rates, and seemingly endless buckets of foreign finance.

# sent_id = 819 # text = Governments that enjoyed the rollercoaster ride on the way up should not have been surprised by the plunge that inevitably follows.

# sent_id = 820 # text = In theory, market-determined currency values are supposed to isolate the domestic economy from the vagaries of international finance, rising when money floods in and falling when the flows are reversed.

# sent_id = 821 # text = In reality, few economies can bear the requisite currency alignments without pain.

# sent_id = 822 # text = Floating exchange rates may moderate the adjustment difficulties, but they do not eliminate them.

# sent_id = 823 # text = Fourth, faith in global economic-policy coordination is misplaced.

# sent_id = 824 # text = America's fiscal and monetary policies, for example, will always be driven by domestic considerations first (if not second and third as well).

# sent_id = 825 # text = And European countries can barely look after their own common interests, let alone the world's.

# sent_id = 826 # text = For the most part, that is not a bad thing.

# sent_id = 827 # text = The Fed's huge monthly purchases of long-term assets – so-called quantitative easing – have benefited the world as a whole by propping up demand and economic activity in the US.

# sent_id = 828 # text = Without QE, which the Fed is now gradually tapering, world trade would have taken a much bigger hit.

# sent_id = 829 # text = Similarly, the rest of the world will benefit when Europeans are able to get their policies right and boost their economies.

# sent_id = 830 # text = In the midst of a foreign-capital bonanza, stagnant levels of private investment in tradable goods are a particularly powerful danger signal that no amount of government mythmaking should be allowed to override.

# sent_id = 831 # text = Officials face a simple choice:

# sent_id = 832 # text = maintain strong prudential controls on capital flows, or be prepared to invest a large share of resources in self-insurance by accumulating large foreign reserves.

# sent_id = 833 # text = The deeper problem lies with the excessive financialization of the global economy that has occurred since the 1990's.

# sent_id = 834 # text = The policy dilemmas that have resulted – rising inequality, greater volatility, reduced room to manage the real economy – will continue to preoccupy policymakers in the decades ahead.

# sent_id = 835 # text = It is true, but unhelpful, to say that governments have only themselves to blame for having recklessly rushed into this wild ride.

# sent_id = 836 # text = Intellectual Property and Economic Development.

# sent_id = 837 # text = WASHINGTON, DC – In his recent State of the Union address, US President Barack Obama reiterated his ambition to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed trade agreement among the US and 11 Pacific countries.

# sent_id = 838 # text = Meanwhile, the European Union and China are pressing to close their own deals in Asia and elsewhere.

# sent_id = 839 # text = Some activists and government officials get the relationship between strong IP protection and economic growth backwards, claiming that IP rights are an obstacle to development, and thus should not be enforced until after countries achieve high-income status.

# sent_id = 840 # text = This attitude is particularly prevalent in India, which recently put trade negotiations with the EU on hold, and it was central to the failure of the Doha Round of global trade talks.

# sent_id = 841 # text = As Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma put it, "inherent flexibilities must be provided to developing countries.

# sent_id = 842 # text = Instead of diluting IP rights, developing countries like India should recognize that strengthening IP protection is a prerequisite for attracting the foreign investment that they need to help their economies grow, create jobs, and improve their citizens'capacity to consume.

# sent_id = 843 # text = Today, IP accounts for much of the value at large companies.

# sent_id = 844 # text = One study found that in 2009, across a variety of industries in the US, intellectual capital – patents, copyrights, databases, brands, and organizational knowledge – held a 44% share of firms' overall market value.

# sent_id = 845 # text = Developing countries have a lot to gain from attracting multinational firms.

# sent_id = 846 # text = They also spawn new local companies that serve as suppliers, thereby boosting employment, augmenting workers' skills, improving productivity, and increasing government revenue.

# sent_id = 847 # text = According to a new study by the economists Robert Shapiro and Aparna Mathur, if India achieved Chinese levels of IP protection, its annual FDI inflows would increase by 33% annually.

# sent_id = 848 # text = In the pharmaceutical sector – which is particularly vulnerable to IP infringement – a stronger IP regime could increase FDI inflows from $1.5 billion this year to $8.3 billion in 2020, with pharmaceutical R&D doubling to $1.3 billion over the same period.

# sent_id = 849 # text = The increased FDI would create 18,000 new jobs in the pharmaceutical industry.

# sent_id = 850 # text = If India could transform its IP regime to resemble the US system, which is more robust than China's, the benefits would be even greater.

# sent_id = 851 # text = Inward FDI could increase by as much as 83% annually by 2020;

# sent_id = 852 # text = in the pharmaceutical industry alone, FDI could reach as much as $77 billion, with R&D rising to $4.2 billion and 44,000 new jobs being created.

# sent_id = 853 # text = The Indian government's ongoing assault on pharmaceutical IP makes these findings even more significant.

# sent_id = 854 # text = Over the last two years, India has invalidated or otherwise attacked patents on 15 drugs produced by international firms in order to make way for local champions, claiming that exclusivity enables companies to charge high prices that harm consumers.

# sent_id = 855 # text = But drug patents and prices are not the main – or even a major – obstacle to patients' access to medical care in India.

# sent_id = 856 # text = The bigger issue, as the IMS consultancy found last year, is the shortage of doctors, clinics, and hospitals, especially in rural areas.

# sent_id = 857 # text = Even the public clinics and hospitals that do exist are often rendered useless by high rates of absenteeism by doctors.

# sent_id = 858 # text = Furthermore, Indians lack access to insurance programs, particularly for outpatient care.

# sent_id = 859 # text = This, coupled with the lack of a public safety net, makes health problems a leading source of economic hardship, even for middle-class families.

# sent_id = 860 # text = Far from improving citizens' access to health care, weak IP protections are exacerbating India's formidable health-care challenges.

# sent_id = 861 # text = It is equally important for trade negotiators worldwide to reject the notion that IP protection is a luxury that only rich countries can afford.

# sent_id = 862 # text = The reality is that IP protection is an economic engine that developing-country citizens should not have to forego.

# sent_id = 863 # text = The Banks that Ate the Economy.

# sent_id = 864 # text = LONDON – Bank of England Governor Mark Carney surprised his audience at a conference late last year by speculating that banking assets in London could grow to more than nine times Britain's GDP by 2050.

# sent_id = 865 # text = His forecast represented a simple extrapolation of two trends:

# sent_id = 866 # text = continued financial deepening worldwide (that is, faster growth of financial assets than of the real economy), and London's maintenance of its share of the global financial business.

# sent_id = 867 # text = These may be reasonable assumptions, but the estimate was deeply unsettling to many.

# sent_id = 868 # text = Hosting a huge financial center, with outsize domestic banks, can be costly to taxpayers.

# sent_id = 869 # text = In Iceland and Ireland, banks outgrew their governments' ability to support them when needed.

# sent_id = 870 # text = The result was disastrous.

# sent_id = 871 # text = Quite apart from the potential bailout costs, some argue that financial hypertrophy harms the real economy by syphoning off talent and resources that could better be deployed elsewhere.

# sent_id = 872 # text = But Carney argues that, on the contrary, the rest of the British economy benefits from having a global financial center in its midst.

# sent_id = 873 # text = "Being at the heart of the global financial system," he said, "broadens the investment opportunities for the institutions that look after British savings, and reinforces the ability of UK manufacturing and creative industries to compete globally.

# sent_id = 874 # text = "That is certainly the assumption on which the London market has been built and the line that successive governments have peddled.

# sent_id = 875 # text = But it is coming under fire.

# sent_id = 876 # text = "He argues (in a speech revealingly entitled "The Contribution of the Financial Sector: Miracle or Mirage?") that the financial sector's reported contribution to GDP has been significantly overrated.

# sent_id = 877 # text = Two recent papers raise further doubts.

# sent_id = 878 # text = In "The Growth of Modern Finance", Robin Greenwood and David Scharfstein of Harvard Business School show that the share of finance in US GDP almost doubled between 1980 and 2006, just before the onset of the financial crisis, from 4.9% to 8.3%.

# sent_id = 879 # text = The two main factors driving that increase were the expansion of credit and the rapid rise in resources devoted to asset management (associated, not coincidentally, with the exponential growth in financial-sector incomes).

# sent_id = 880 # text = Greenwood and Scharfstein argue that increased financialization was a mixed blessing.

# sent_id = 881 # text = There may have been more savings opportunities for households and more diverse funding sources for firms, but the added value of asset-management activity was illusory.

# sent_id = 882 # text = Much of it involved costly churning of portfolios, while increased leverage implied fragility for the financial system as a whole and imposed severe social costs as over-exposed households subsequently went bankrupt.

# sent_id = 883 # text = Stephen G. Cecchetti and Enisse Kharroubi of the Bank for International Settlements – the central banks' central bank – go further.

# sent_id = 884 # text = They argue that rapid financial-sector growth reduces productivity growth in other sectors.

# sent_id = 885 # text = Using a sample of 20 developed countries, they find a negative correlation between the financial sector's share of GDP and the health of the real economy.

# sent_id = 886 # text = But it is clear that financial firms compete with others for resources, and especially for skilled labor.

# sent_id = 887 # text = Physicists or engineers with doctorates can choose to develop complex mathematical models of market movements for investment banks or hedge funds, where they are known colloquially as "rocket scientists.

# sent_id = 888 # text = "Or they could use their talents to design, say, real rockets.

# sent_id = 889 # text = Cecchetti and Kharroubi find evidence that it is indeed research-intensive firms that suffer most when finance is booming.

# sent_id = 890 # text = And we are not just talking about the so-called "quants.

# sent_id = 891 # text = "In the years before the 2008 financial crisis, more than a third of Harvard MBAs, and a similar proportion of graduates of the London School of Economics, went to work for financial firms.

# sent_id = 892 # text = (Some might cynically say that keeping MBAs and economists out of real businesses is a blessing, but I doubt that that is really true.)

# sent_id = 893 # text = The authors find another intriguing effect, too.

# sent_id = 894 # text = Periods of rapid growth in lending are often associated with construction booms, partly because real-estate assets are relatively easy to post as collateral for loans.

# sent_id = 895 # text = But the rate of productivity growth in construction is low, and the value of many credit-fueled projects subsequently turns out to be low or negative.

# sent_id = 896 # text = So, should Britons look forward with enthusiasm to the future sketched by Carney?

# sent_id = 897 # text = Aspiring derivatives traders certainly will be more confident of their career prospects.

# sent_id = 898 # text = And other parts of the economy that provide services to the financial sector – Porsche dealers and strip clubs, for example – will be similarly encouraged.

# sent_id = 899 # text = Sustaining Ukraine's Breakthrough.

# sent_id = 900 # text = NEW YORK – Following a crescendo of terrifying violence, the Ukrainian uprising has had a surprisingly positive outcome.

# sent_id = 901 # text = Contrary to all rational expectations, a group of citizens armed with not much more than sticks and shields made of cardboard boxes and metal garbage-can lids overwhelmed a police force firing live ammunition.

# sent_id = 902 # text = There were many casualties, but the citizens prevailed.

# sent_id = 903 # text = This was one of those historic moments that leave a lasting imprint on a society's collective memory.

# sent_id = 904 # text = How could such a thing happen?

# sent_id = 905 # text = Quantum mechanics offers a fitting metaphor.

# sent_id = 906 # text = similarly, human beings may behave both as individual particles and as components of a larger wave.

# sent_id = 907 # text = In other words, the unpredictability of historical events like those in Ukraine has to do with an element of uncertainty in human identity.

# sent_id = 908 # text = People's identity is made up of individual elements and elements of larger units to which they belong, and peoples' impact on reality depends on which elements dominate their behavior.

# sent_id = 909 # text = When civilians launched a suicidal attack on an armed force in Kyiv on February 20, their sense of representing "the nation" far outweighed their concern with their individual mortality.

# sent_id = 910 # text = The result was to swing a deeply divided society from the verge of civil war to an unprecedented sense of unity.

# sent_id = 911 # text = Whether that unity endures will depend on how Europe responds.

# sent_id = 912 # text = Ukrainians have demonstrated their allegiance to a European Union that is itself hopelessly divided, with the euro crisis pitting creditor and debtor countries against one another.

# sent_id = 913 # text = That is why the EU was hopelessly outmaneuvered by Russia in the negotiations with Ukraine over an Association Agreement.

# sent_id = 914 # text = True to form, the EU under German leadership offered far too little and demanded far too much from Ukraine.

# sent_id = 915 # text = Now, after the Ukrainianpeople's commitment to closer ties with Europe fueled a successful popular insurrection, the EU, along with the International Monetary Fund, is putting together a multibillion-dollar rescue package to save the country from financial collapse.

# sent_id = 916 # text = But that will not be sufficient to sustain the national unity that Ukraine will need in the coming years.

# sent_id = 917 # text = I established the Renaissance Foundation in Ukraine in 1990 – before the country achieved independence.

# sent_id = 918 # text = The foundation did not participate in the recent uprising, but it did serve as a defender of those targeted by official repression.

# sent_id = 919 # text = The foundation is now ready to support Ukrainians' strongly felt desire to establish resilient democratic institutions (above all, an independent and professional judiciary).

# sent_id = 920 # text = But Ukraine will need outside assistance that only the EU can provide:

# sent_id = 921 # text = management expertise and access to markets.

# sent_id = 922 # text = In the remarkable transformation of Central Europe's economies in the 1990's, management expertise and market access resulted from massive investments by German and other EU-based companies, which integrated local producers into their global value chains.

# sent_id = 923 # text = Ukraine, with its high-quality human capital and diversified economy, is a potentially attractive investment destination.

# sent_id = 924 # text = But realizing this potential requires improving the business climate across the economy as a whole and within individual sectors – particularly by addressing the endemic corruption and weak rule of law that are deterring foreign and domestic investors alike.

# sent_id = 925 # text = In addition to encouraging foreign direct investment, the EU could provide support to train local companies' managers and help them develop their business strategies, with service providers remunerated by equity stakes or profit-sharing.

# sent_id = 926 # text = An effective way to roll out such support to a large number of companies would be to combine it with credit lines provided by commercial banks.

# sent_id = 927 # text = To encourage participation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) could invest in companies alongside foreign and local investors, as it did in Central Europe.

# sent_id = 928 # text = Ukraine would thus open its domestic market to goods manufactured or assembled by European companies' wholly - or partly - owned subsidiaries, while the EU would increase market access for Ukrainian companies and help them integrate into global markets.

# sent_id = 929 # text = I hope and trust that Europe under German leadership will rise to the occasion.

# sent_id = 930 # text = I have been arguing for several years that Germany should accept the responsibilities and liabilities of its dominant position in Europe.

# sent_id = 931 # text = Today, Ukraine needs a modern-day equivalent of the Marshall Plan, by which the United States helped to reconstruct Europe after World War II.

# sent_id = 932 # text = Germany ought to play the same role today as the US did then.

# sent_id = 933 # text = I must, however, end with a word of caution.

# sent_id = 934 # text = The Marshall Plan did not include the Soviet bloc, thereby reinforcing the Cold War division of Europe.

# sent_id = 935 # text = A replay of the Cold War would cause immense damage to both Russia and Europe, and most of all to Ukraine, which is situated between them.

# sent_id = 936 # text = Ukraine depends on Russian gas, and it needs access to European markets for its products;

# sent_id = 937 # text = it must have good relations with both sides.

# sent_id = 938 # text = Chancellor Angela Merkel must reach out to President Vladimir Putin to ensure that Russia is a partner, not an opponent, in the Ukrainian renaissance.

# sent_id = 939 # text = FEB 27, 2014.

# sent_id = 940 # text = China's Growth Puzzle.

# sent_id = 941 # text = Perceptions of resilience have given way to fears of vulnerability.

# sent_id = 942 # text = The US Federal Reserve's tapering of its unprecedented liquidity injections has been an obvious and important trigger.

# sent_id = 943 # text = Emerging economies that are overly dependent on global capital flows – particularly India, Indonesia, Brazil, South Africa, and Turkey – are finding it tougher to finance economic growth.

# sent_id = 944 # text = In the throes of crisis, generalization is the norm;

# sent_id = 945 # text = in the end, however, it pays to differentiate.

# sent_id = 946 # text = Unlike the deficit-prone emerging economies that are now in trouble – whose imbalances are strikingly reminiscent of those in the Asian economies that were hit by the late-1990's financial crisis – China runs a current-account surplus.

# sent_id = 947 # text = As a result, there is no risk of portfolio outflows resulting from the Fed's tapering of its monthly asset purchases.

# sent_id = 948 # text = And, of course, China's outsize backstop of $3.8 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves provides ample insurance in the event of intensified financial contagion.

# sent_id = 949 # text = It is neither desirable nor feasible for China to return to the trajectory of 10% annual growth that it achieved in the three decades after 1980.

# sent_id = 950 # text = Yet a superficial fixation on China's headline GDP growth persists, so that a 25% deceleration, to a 7-8% annual rate, is perceived as somehow heralding the end of the modern world's greatest development story.

# sent_id = 951 # text = This knee-jerk reaction presumes that China's current slowdown is but a prelude to more growth disappointments to come – a presumption that reflects widespread and longstanding fears of a broad array of disaster scenarios, ranging from social unrest and environmental catastrophes to housing bubbles and shadow-banking blow-ups.

# sent_id = 952 # text = While these concerns should not be dismissed out of hand, none of them is the source of the current slowdown.

# sent_id = 953 # text = Instead, lower growth rates are the natural result of the long-awaited rebalancing of the Chinese economy.

# sent_id = 954 # text = In other words, what we are witnessing is the effect of a major shift from hyper-growth led by exports and investment (thanks to a vibrant manufacturing sector) to a model that is much more reliant on the slower but steadier growth dynamic of consumer spending and services.

# sent_id = 955 # text = Indeed, in 2013, the Chinese services sector became the economy's largest, surpassing the combined share of the manufacturing and construction sectors.

# sent_id = 956 # text = The codependency construct is rooted in the psychopathology of human relationships whereby two partners, whether out of need or convenience, draw unhealthy support from each other.

# sent_id = 957 # text = Ultimately, codependency leads to a loss of identity, serious frictions, and often a nasty breakup – unless one or both of the partners becomes more self-reliant and strikes out on his or her own.

# sent_id = 958 # text = The economic analogue of codependency applies especially well to the US and China.

# sent_id = 959 # text = China's export-led growth miracle would not have started in the 1980's without the American consumer.

# sent_id = 960 # text = The US, for its part, relied on cheap goods made in China to stretch hard-pressed consumers' purchasing power.

# sent_id = 961 # text = It also became dependent on China's savings surplus to finance its own savings shortfall (the world's largest), and took advantage of China's voracious demand for US Treasury securities to help fund massive budget deficits and subsidize low domestic interest rates.

# sent_id = 962 # text = Frictions between the two partners have developed over a wide range of issues, including trade, the renminbi's exchange rate, regional security, intellectual property, and cyber attacks, among others.

# sent_id = 963 # text = And, just as a psychologist would predict, one of the partners, China, has decided to go its own way.

# sent_id = 964 # text = China's rebalancing will enable it to absorb its surplus savings, which will be put to work building a social safety net and boosting Chinese households' wherewithal.

# sent_id = 965 # text = As a result, China will no longer be inclined to lend its capital to the US.

# sent_id = 966 # text = For a growth-starved US economy, the transformation of its codependent partner could well be a fork in the road.

# sent_id = 967 # text = One path is quite risky:

# sent_id = 968 # text = The other path holds great opportunity:

# sent_id = 969 # text = In doing so, the US could draw support from exports, especially to a rebalanced China – currently its third-largest and fastest-growing major export market.

# sent_id = 970 # text = Compared with other emerging economies, China is cut from a different cloth.

# sent_id = 971 # text = China emerged from the late-1990's Asian financial crisis as the region's most resilient economy, and I suspect the same will be true this time.

# sent_id = 972 # text = Malthus, Marx, and Modern Growth.

# sent_id = 973 # text = CAMBRIDGE – The promise that each generation will be better off than the last is a fundamental tenet of modern society.

# sent_id = 974 # text = By and large, most advanced economies have fulfilled this promise, with living standards rising over recent generations, despite setbacks from wars and financial crises.

# sent_id = 975 # text = In the developing world, too, the vast majority of people have started to experience sustained improvement in living standards and are rapidly developing similar growth expectations.

# sent_id = 976 # text = But will future generations, particularly in advanced economies, realize such expectations?

# sent_id = 977 # text = So far, every prediction in the modern era that mankind's lot will worsen, from Thomas Malthus to Karl Marx, has turned out to be spectacularly wrong.

# sent_id = 978 # text = Technological progress has trumped obstacles to economic growth.

# sent_id = 979 # text = Periodic political rebalancing, sometimes peaceful, sometimes not, has ensured that the vast majority of people have benefited, albeit some far more than others.

# sent_id = 980 # text = As a result, Malthus's concerns about mass starvation have failed to materialize in any peaceful capitalist economy.

# sent_id = 981 # text = And, despite a disconcerting fall in labor's share of income in recent decades, the long-run picture still defies Marx's prediction that capitalism would prove immiserating for workers.

# sent_id = 982 # text = Living standards around the world continue to rise.

# sent_id = 983 # text = But past growth performance is no guarantee that a broadly similar trajectory can be maintained throughout this century.

# sent_id = 984 # text = Leaving aside potential geopolitical disruptions, there are some formidable challenges to overcome, mostly stemming from political underperformance and dysfunction.

# sent_id = 985 # text = The first set of issues includes slow-burn problems involving externalities, the leading example being environmental degradation.

# sent_id = 986 # text = When property rights are ill-defined, as in the case of air and water, government must step in to provide appropriate Regulation.

# sent_id = 987 # text = I do not envy future generations for having to address the possible ramifications of global warming and fresh-water depletion.

# sent_id = 988 # text = A second set of problems concerns the need to ensure that the economic system is perceived as fundamentally fair, which is the key to its political sustainability.

# sent_id = 989 # text = Inequality can corrupt and paralyze a country's political system – and economic growth along with it.

# sent_id = 990 # text = The third problem is that of aging populations, an issue that would pose tough challenges even for the best-designed political system.

# sent_id = 991 # text = Soaring public debts surely exacerbate the problem, because future generations are being asked both to service our debt and to pay for our retirements.

# sent_id = 992 # text = The final challenge concerns a wide array of issues that require Regulation of rapidly evolving technologies by governments that do not necessarily have the competence or resources to do so effectively.

# sent_id = 993 # text = We have already seen where poor Regulation of rapidly evolving financial markets can lead.

# sent_id = 994 # text = There are parallel shortcomings in many other markets.

# sent_id = 995 # text = A leading example is food supply – an area where technology has continually produced ever-more highly processed and genetically refined food that scientists are only beginning to assess.

# sent_id = 996 # text = What is known so far is that childhood obesity has become an epidemic in many countries, with an alarming rise in rates of type 2 diabetes and coronary disease implying a significant negative impact on life expectancy in future generations.

# sent_id = 997 # text = Many leading health researchers, including Kelly Brownell, David Ludwig, and Walter Willett, have documented these problems.

# sent_id = 998 # text = Government interventions to date, mainly in the form of enhanced education, have proved largely ineffective.

# sent_id = 999 # text = Self-destructive addiction to processed foods, which economists would describe as an "internality", can lower quality of life for those afflicted, and can eventually lead to externalities for society, such as higher health-care costs.